Sailas considered his friends words carefully after he spoke.
It wasn't the best solution to the ongoing situation, but what was? No matter what, the Zoners in Pennsylvania were going up against a war machine built to take on other houses, not a group of individuals that want nothing more than to be left alone. What Liberty was doing was wrong, it was tantamount to bullying the smallest kid in the classroom just because they had something they wanted. It made his blood boil; bringing back memories of feelings towards his own homeland when they invaded Omega-48 and Gran Canaria.
He looked to Brad, meeting his eyes and tentatively nodding his head at his compromise.
"A fairer assessment and one that I can get behind. Not one that I'm overly thrilled with, but it's better than the previous suggestion you offered. This allows those who wish to defend their home a means to do so while preparing Bethlehem for a possible attack from the Fascists.
"Keep in mind though, my fellow academic, that there is still the likelihood that Liberty will siege and/or attack Bethlehem, regardless if we ban capital vessels or not, to push the remaining Zoners out of the system under the same guise they used for Erie: Rooting out Insurgent rebels. They attacked us once without provocation already, what's to stop them from doing the same with the remaining Freeport in the system? Barring Personally Operated Bases, of course.
"Driftwood is the best option here. While it's far away from the main lines, those wishing to defend their home can launch raids from the field if they so desire.
"However, this brings up another point of contention: How are we going to offer those Zoners in the Driftwood field our support whilst saving face with our Liberty overlords?" Sailas drags out the last word with heavily implied sarcasm. "I'd like to help them out if possible, preferably without making the situation there worse."
Sailas thoughtfully glances to the screen with the communications Brad had put on screen. "You think we could reach Dr. Holliday on the communication array here? Some input from our wayward Doctor on the ground might offer some insight into how we can help the local population there without stirring up shit."
![[Image: psMG0VQ.gif]](https://imgur.com/psMG0VQ.gif)