The capital defense offer arrived with a map showing every available hunter under a single command mark.
Eli recognized two names from the smaller cities. Neither had agreed to leave. One had not even been reached since the previous call. The map made them look like pieces already collected in Rook’s hand.
At the summit table, Rook explained that it was a proposed command structure, not a claim that consent had been obtained. The distinction was valid. Eli wrote proposed across his copy before the neat arrangement could become another fact people remembered from a diagram.
The capital commander sat nearest the screen. He had asked for a decision window and had received one. His own forces had completed their perimeter check, finding an access problem that now consumed a crew. Aegis could reinforce him quickly. Every minute spent arguing over the conditions had an operational cost.
Rook identified ready transport, reserve hunters and equipment already staged outside the capital. No one challenged the existence of the force. The dispute concerned the authority he wanted in exchange.
“Every available hunter must answer to the emergency command,” he said. “A reserve that cannot be moved isn’t a reserve. It’s three separate commitments pretending to be one response.”
