Vadim Kohl ground his teeth in frustration. His taskforce was being called off again even as they approached Star System B-1171. Apparently, the mission planners had been a little ambitious with their overall strategy, and now, there were gaps in the line at critical places. Unfortunately, Kohl wasn't being redirected to a critical Fed target. He was being recalled back to Alliance space.

"When I agreed to work with your group, I specifically said I would not be put in a position to attack my own people," Kohl said, trying to stay calm. Thankfully, the computer would transcribe his words to text, then encode them for transmission to Makov so any inflection would be stripped away from his words.

"You're being sent to Xinjia not any Warsaw Alliance worlds," Makov said, the computer reading the response. "Our forces there have been compromised, and subduing our own political apparatus is critical. You need to change your thinking, We're doing this because all humans are your people, and we can no longer afford the luxury of childishly clinging to separate enclaves and alliances like we once did. The sooner you get on board with that, Admiral, the better."

Xinjia had been the capital world of the old Asianic Union and was now the capital world of the entire Eastern Star Alliance. The AU's political machine had been the driving force behind splitting off from the old Confederacy after the Phage War. They'd also taken the lead in reaching out to the Darshik to betray the Federation in exchange for technology and intelligence. Kohl didn't trust them, but that didn't mean he was enthusiastic about moving on them militarily.

The plan had been for their supporters within the Xinjia Homeguard to blockade the planet and impose a communications blackout while the rest of their forces neutralized the Federation. Now, from what Kohl was hearing from Makov, their Homeguard units may have betrayed them, and he could be flying his taskforce into a gunfight against Alliance ships. This wasn't what he signed up for.

"I feel like there are units that would be better positioned than we are," Kohl tried a different tactic. "It will take me more than…nineteen days to get there, and then another week or so plowing down into the system."

"And it will be another month before the first com drones with news of what happened reach Xinjia," Makov said. "Like I said…this is not a negotiation. I've no doubt you'll have ample chance to chase down Wolfe once the dust settles, but it will all be for nothing if we don't secure all of our strategic targets within the required timeframe."

"What if I encounter local resistance around Xinjia?"

"I don't think I need to tell you that our overall goals cannot be derailed for the sake of a few outdated ships in the Homeguard. Do what needs to be done. We're not sure how much longer these com devices will be active so ask any questions you have as if this is the last time we'll speak until it's all over."