Obsidian Table | Trilateral Military Command Session

[Red]

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Frei remained seated, his eyes set on the rotating hologram of the ship and although visibly not in agreement with what was presented, he did not interrupt it. Once the final projection markers dimmed, the room was left with the usual quietness that follows such presentations.

The sudden silence was immediately broke by the Colonel tapping his fingers against the datapad in front of him.

“The Houses, well Rheinland for that matter is the prime candidate for this plan of yours, there's no shortage of men who go rogue. Their disruption is preferable to our attrition, afterall we will not win this if it comes to trading ships in open space.”

His eyes shifted up to Brass.

“But this disruption is going to be without our ownership.”

The hologram slightly glitched as the cruiser completed another slow rotation.

“You propose we arm those pirates with a vessel capable of applying cruiser-level pressure without any sort of allegiance.” I can see the benefits, distributed pressure, a bigger strain the the Military."

He leaned back slightly in his chair.

“But do you take heed of the cost? Pirates do not fight with doctrine. They fight with appetite. The same hull that harasses House convoys today may contest our supply lines tomorrow.”

His gaze moved briefly toward the Coalition delegation.

“We are already engaged in resource contest with the Corsairs in the Omegas. The last thing we need is more contenders to our own raiding parties.”

The Colonel folded his hands.

“Introducing additional cruiser-grade pirate actors into the game might cause more harm than good.”

A pause.

“Bottom line is, we do not need additional parties complicating our own operations.”

He turned back to Brass.

“So let me ask this plainly. What mechanisms ensure that the Agitator remains a tool of destabilization and does not become an independent predator?”

Silence returned to the chamber.

“I am not rejecting your plan outright, but before we let loose this chaos, I want to know how we intend to leash it.”

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