Red stopped typing and removed everything.
Red wasn't going to look eager. Forgiving an orbital intrusion just because it was strategically convenient was a sign of weakness. If the Iron Arbiter wanted his war machine, the Top 10 Warlord was going to have to play by Red's rules.
He typed a single, concise response.
[ TRANSMISSION LOG BEGINS ]
If your Vanguard General had asked for a parley instead of demanding my treasury, he would still be breathing.I do not travel for diplomacy. If the Second Continent requires the Vanguard's artillery for your eastern front, you will negotiate on my terms, in my territory. Send your emissaries to the Seventeenth. I will give them an audience.
[ TRANSMISSION LOG ENDS ]
He hit send. The encrypted block of text dissolved into the digital void.
