Surprise was the first thing coming to his mind regarding Halls action. Many things are to be expected of Hall, but playing along was not one of them. In his world it surely made sense to give up on his position to gain a moral victory though, be it as insignifficant as showing someone he regards as lesser his place. But one thing Hall was showing everyone at this table now was that he saw McIntire as a danger. The target of Halls mistrust just was not sure yet if it was of help for the cause or of danger for himself.
Nevertheless Hall just contributed an important deed to the effort of gaining Leeds back, maybe loosing this little game was of use for the greater good.
Slowly taking his eyes off of Hall he turned to the Fleet Admiral, prepared for Halls smugness.
Hall is right, we will have to contribute more to gain the upper hand. The Essex fleet is able to contribute 25% of its marines, Dublin is a rough turf and we can not be sure of what we will face in the next months considering the secure Gallic position in Edinburgh. I can order 15% of the logistic division ships to the north, along with a few fighterwings and some Churchills along with their escorts. I can not contribute more heavy units, the danger of leaving an open flank is too high in this system and I will not take the risk to open the doors to New London for the enemys of the Kingdom.
The Essex fleet is not the biggest, I can not compensate too many ships considering the Gallic fleet sits in the next system.
He could nearly feel how Hall kept his eyes on him, satisfied of what he just heard. He did not even cast a glance at him but rather let his view wander through the round.
