Her eyebrows lowered. "What does that mean?"
Raider didn’t answer, focusing on Jace as he stared down at his hands in thought.
"Defying Centcom's orders will carry consequences," Bechler murmured.
"You're saying we should ignore this chance?" Sheppard asked scathingly.
"Not at all. I'm saying we need to consider all outcomes."
Kira ignored them as she looked at Jace. "Raider's right. You wanted something concrete." She nodded at the star map. "There you have it."
Whether he planned to do anything with that information was up to him. Kira wouldn't force him. Humanity was responsible for their own decisions.
Kira hoped they would seize this chance. If only because it seemed fitting that those who'd been with her at the start were there for the end.
Jace's gaze lifted to hers. "You realize if I say yes, I could be court martialed."
"Only if we fail."
And they weren't going to fail.
"Besides, who doesn't have a court martial or two on their record," Kira said dismissively.
Jace was the only one of them who'd avoided such a blemish. That was probably why he'd ended up as a rear admiral and they hadn't.
"You still have no plan," Jace told her.
"You know that won't stop me."
Jace's low laugh was disbelieving as he shook his head. "All you have is a location. You have no intelligence on the size of the army we'd be facing. You don't know what defenses their planet has. Nor the number of ships they have protecting it."
Kira tilted her head at Aeron. "Good thing I brought someone familiar with all those details."
Jace scoffed. "You want me to trust the word of an enemy? Are you out of your mind?"
"Sometimes," Kira admitted. But she didn't think this was one of those times. She leaned forward. "Wouldn't it be nice to fight this battle on someone else's home ground for a change?"
Her words got through to at least one of them as Shepperd nodded in agreement.
"You know you can't win a war built on defense. Centcom already tried once. The Tsavitee will gnaw away at your lines little by little and it'll be the civilians who pay the price."
Bechler looked at Jace. "We have our orders."
Impatience moved through Kira. "Orders you know come from corrupted officials working with the Tsavitee. That's who you're going to listen to?"
"She has a point," Hollis said.
At Kira and Jace’s look, the other woman shrugged. "I can read the writing on the wall just as well as you two. I know there are issues in our government and Centcom. This latest bullshit regarding the treaty is evidence of that." Hollis focused on Jace. "Ultimately, this decision is yours. You’re the one they'll go after if we fail."
Jace was quiet, his head bowed as he stared at the table. No one spoke as they waited for his decision.
Kira held her breath. Come on, Jace. You know this is the right play.
"Alright," Jace said, his gaze finding Kira's. "You win. We'll do this."
Raider slapped the table. "I knew you wouldn't let me down."
"We'll do this," Jace reiterated, ignoring Raider as he focused on Kira. "But I want a plan. A real one. Not one of those half-baked plans you're famous for."
Graydon's lips curved as he shot Kira a look. "So, I'm not the only one who has noticed that habit of yours."
Kira sent him a dirty look.
"I guess that means I'm up," Aeron drawled.
The humans flinched, seeing him reach for Odin's device. Aeron paused, a droll look on his face as he made a show of reaching for it again. Slower this time.
Bechler and Shepperd eyed him carefully but made no further movements.
Aeron tapped Odin's device. The star map shifted. A planet forming over the table.
"You're not going to be able to take this planet with the puny number of forces you currently have," Aeron started.
"How do you know our numbers?" Bechler asked sharply.
"Please." Aeron sneered. "We've been studying you for years. Our spies have infiltrated every walk of life. We’re in your government. Your military. Your civilian population. We know everything we need to know."
"I doubt that," Jace said.
Aeron blew out an impatient breath as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, we know about the ships you received from Luatha. And your attempts to reverse engineer them. We also know you've had limited success with the help of Kira's cousin and her people." Aeron pinned Jace with a look. "Like I said—we've been watching you."
The humans went silent, their expressions fierce as they stared at the general.
Aeron ignored their antagonism, continuing with his presentation. "The home world is heavily defended. In addition to a large ground force, there is a fleet patrolling the neighboring sectors. Trust me when I say, if you were to encounter it, your ships would be shredded before you get anywhere close."
Shepperd tapped the table thoughtfully. "A distraction might work. If we can draw their forces far enough away, it might give us enough time to get in and do some damage before getting out again."
"Did you not hear what I said?" Aeron asked.
Shepperd waved him away. "Yeah. Yeah. They'll make mincemeat of our ships. Don't worry. I don't think it'll be as easy as you assume. Us humans still have a few tricks up our sleeves."
Kira was beginning to like this brash captain of Jace's. She could see why the other man had made it into her friend's inner circle.
"Even if you’re able to distract the fleet long enough to attack the planet, you'll find the surface guarded by a network of automated defenses. If by some miracle you make it through them, you'll be up against the ground to atmosphere energy cannons which will target any unauthorized ship attempting to land." Aeron's face was grim as he looked at Kira. "This is a suicide mission. Even for someone as powerful as the Phoenix."
Maybe so, but Kira wasn't willing to give up. There was always something. Some little detail or overlooked chink that she could leverage.
She absolutely refused to walk away. Not when they were so close.
"We do it like we did on Paxus," Kira said.
Graydon and the rest of the Tuann showed confusion as the humans turned stiff.
"What happened on Paxus?" Graydon asked when no one spoke for long moments.
Raider shifted uncomfortably as he darted a glance at Kira. "We nearly died."
"But we didn't," Kira responded.
And that was all that mattered.
"Would it work?" Jace asked.
Raider considered before nodding reluctantly. "The Curs might be able to do it."
"We do what Shepperd suggested," Kira said urgently. "We create a distraction to move the bulk of their fleet away from the planet. Then the rest of us go in for a targeted attack."
"Were you not listening?" Aeron demanded. "There is a defense network. You'll never get close."
"Yes, we will," Jace said, holding Kira's gaze. "One ship to lure the fleet. The other two to trigger the defenses and create a gap just wide enough for a small drop team to be inserted into the atmosphere of the planet. Once down there, they do as much damage in as short a time frame as possible. That's what you're thinking, right?"
"Got it in one."