[color=9e0b0f][b]Guard Captain Harlock - Haven Throne Room[/b][/color]

Lady Ashur had called for her advisors immediately after the disturbing report from Vikia and her scouts had come through. Cincinnati was indeed overrun, and the Midwestern Paladin-Lord had apparently not been exaggerating the strength of the mutant host. Now Captain Harlock stood alongside Scribe Abbadon and Head Priestess Lulu before the seated Marie. Each one of them offering their own advice, whether solicited or not, on the matter in question. Though Harlock had his doubts about the quality of advice being so freely given by The Pitt's resident Scribe. 

“I still think we should take this report with some measure of skepticism - while the mutant host might be confirmed the situation may not be as dire as Vikia’s report suggests. We should not act rashly without further intelligence.” Abaddon offered dryly. 

Harlock glared spitefully at the old man's bullheaded stubbornness. The scribe had obviously just been pulled out of bed and it was a fucking miracle that whatever potent cocktail of jet and mentats he’d probably been habitually partaking in was allowing him to stand at all.

“Vikia and her scouts are the best in The Pitt,” Harlock countered, “And they ain’t the only ones reporting in. I’ve gotten word from our boys in Cleveland that the port of Chicago is gone - not taken - gone. The whole place is a crater.”

“What exactly are you implying Captain?” Abaddon interrupted with an annoyed huff.

“That the Midwestern Brotherhood might have done something drastic as a last resort: nuking their own city to deny the mutants a victory.”

Abaddon scoffed, “Nonsense. Deploying a nuclear weapon would be in direct violation of the Codex. Even those backwards heretics wouldn’t dare do something so abhorrent. Its inconceivable.” 

“Either way it doesn’t matter,”Harlock growled, “Whatever happened to the city, it still means that there’s something larger going on here. The Paladin-Lord was right, this ain’t just one Brotherhood city under siege - it's a full scale invasion. The entire region is under attack, and we're likely next. It's a strategic fact - and it's about damn time we faced it.”

Lady Marie then turned to Abaddon, speaking softly with a tone of voice in which Harlock thought he could detect the slightest hint of fear, “Did you discover anything in your archives that might shed some light on the mutant army?”

“Well only one, potential, reference my Lady. The oldest my chapter retained in fact...” Abaddon cleared his throat, hesitating for a brief moment as if the chem-addled codger was reluctant to share this particular detail, “Roger Maxson, the founder of The Brotherhood, made reference to a source of FEV located at the Mariposa Military base. Meaning that while there have not been mutants known in the West before now...I do suppose it's possible that someone, or something, got its hands on the substance via Mariposa. However unlikely it would seem to be.”

“And used them to create an army…” Harlock continued, finishing the thought, before he then turned to Marie. Looking straight into her eyes,  “Lady Ashur we should take this threat seriously. We [b]need[/b] to be ready.”

Marie sat silently for a few moments, looking between the faces of each of her advisors before finally staring at the empty armor of her father that stood just off to her left. Harlock wondered fitfully what was going through her mind, and was desperate to do anything he could to help her make the right decision. Ultimately though, it was entirely up to her will. 

Finally Marie turned to Lulu, projecting a well-rehearsed voice of confidence - one which could only have come from a lifetime of tutelage under her father.

“Lulu...take down my words and relay them as appropriate.”

“Yes my Lady,” the high-priestess nodded, bowing respectfully before the throne.

“Inform The Foreman at The Mill that production quotas are to be increased: we must ensure a steady supply of ordinance coming off the line. Furthermore, recall Commander Krenshaw from Cleveland: he’s to report to The Pitt at once to take command. The army is to be mobilized and made ready to fight as quickly as possible. ”