Once the group gathering broke up, Max returned to his office as planned but called for Nico to join him so that they could plan their course of action in advance.
"So, what are we starting with? I've got news from home. The rest of the planets have been verified clear of human habitation, so the Reaver Council has cleared us to cleanse them and terraform them for future use. The other ships can do that from orbit without risking anything, so it's being taken care of as we speak.
Or it will be taken care of as soon as they finish what they're working on.
I can't find the source of the transmission that the Envoys are concerned about, though. It looks like it's a portable transmitter, and it's turned off right now." She informed him as soon as she entered the room.
"That's good. I'm sure the captains will appreciate the extra share of the reward for being the ones to cleanse the planets. What we need is a way off this ship to search for the source of the Klem infestation while the Android Army takes care of everything here.
But we need it to look like at least I am still here leading the troops so that nobody gets the idea that we might be able to track the path of the infestation back to its source."
"I can make an Android that will pose as you. But someone would have to be putting in the orders on your behalf." Nico suggested.
"Major Miller. He's aboard Terminus, and he's got the experience to lead a battle. If we have him pose as me and issue the orders on my behalf while we're gone, the Android can go about my daily routine. We will just cancel all public meetings and have them remain in my offices, with some public appearances for the show.
We can tell the Envoys and hold meetings by holographic projection while we're away. They will just have to all be moved to secure locations and not end in public appearances."
Nico tapped a rhythm on the table while she considered the possibilities.
"We can have it take the public transit from your quarters to the secure meeting floor. That way, anyone who is searching for you will see you moving around, but you'll still be unavailable to most people, the same as you are now.
Everyone knows that you're too busy for even more meetings, so they report to their managers, and the managers send reports to you but know not to bother you directly unless it's extremely urgent. It's their job to take care of their department, and you're more of the CEO who guides policy and doesn't micromanage."
That sounded about right. He responded to messages about the ship's operations twice daily most of the time, and everyone was used to that schedule, so he could do it from anywhere. It was only an exceptional circumstance that would require a personal meeting with him unless it was a ranking politician, and he had to do it himself.
"Alright, we will get ahold of Miller and get him up to speed on what we're planning here on the surface. The tactics will be familiar to him, and he can improvise as he goes. With the Klem mostly gathered around cities, the first part of the operation will be easy anyhow, as long as the cities aren't breached." Max agreed.
Max sent out the message, and Miller responded right away, eager to have something more to do than supervise the training of his soldiers. The troops that would be leading the units this time would be from Absolution, so the Mecha Pilots aboard Terminus were simply on standby mode and unlikely to need to do anything in the near future since the ship wasn't scheduled to depart from its docking bay in the world ship for over a month after the week-long break from the Academy ended.
It didn't take him long to get to the office, where Nico had everything pulled up on a data table and a hologram, so he could see exactly what they were planning.
"This place is pretty luxurious. You know, I used to think that the Senior Officers' apartments aboard Terminus were nice, but this is something else, and it's just your office." The former Major laughed.
"You have no idea. There's a full spa through those doors, staffed by androids, as well as a sauna, various herbal baths, including a simulated natural hot spring, a private gym, a running track, virtual reality pods, a Mecha trainer, and a relaxation room, in case you didn't want to go all the way back to your apartment after your shift." Max joked.
"Seriously?"
Nico nodded. "Everything that a commander could need is right here, including a separate power supply, in case of attack or power outage aboard the ship. It serves much like an isolated safe room for Command Staff. There are actually four apartments here, but none of them are in use since it's not far from our actual apartment here on the World Ship."
"If that's the case, I don't mind hanging out here for a while. How long will you be gone?" Miller agreed.
"One week. Whatever we find, we will come back in one week before the battle on the surface is over. If we're not here to make public announcements at that time, it will become clear to whoever is sending messages to an outside force that something is off, so we can't miss it.
We will be heading out right away since there are a number of corporate shuttles departing Absolution this afternoon, headed for the core world's region. We will just join them through the portal and then make our secondary jumps from there." Max informed him.
"That works. But what will you even take for a ship?" Miller asked.
"Fear not. I have prepared for that. Generation 5 of the Morphable Hull is ready now, and I have it ready for our journey. Just a few more things to load, and we can go. It's much larger than the previous versions, so it can pose as a pleasure yacht or small military vessel instead of a shuttle, but it shares the same shape-changing outer hull design." Nico explained.
"What needs to be loaded? I can get someone on it." Miller suggested.
"Cleansing Light and Shattered Pride."
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