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Carlyle?"
    "Councilor Cormier has a question," Mother intoned.
    Ben nodded and smiled at the man. "Please proceed, Councilor."
    Cormier smiled and bobbed his head at Ben. "Good Morning to you and Councilor Carlyle, Prime. Councilor Carlyle, how certain are you of the Dukes intentions to use those shock troops against this planet?"
    "'Tis nothing written in stone when dealing with a situation of this kind. Aye, even more so when dealing with a being that is not human nor thinks like a human. So instead, I looked more at the results of potential action he could make and gave advice based on that. Based on the information given us by Miss Addson Dee, corroborated both by Captain Elrond as well as the Rangers now visiting us, the use of those troops pretty much destroys all other beings on the planet. Now, what use would Tammerain have for a world that could not resume function until he could bring in his own people to administer it? Nay, he, himself could not even land for at least a week after taking the planet or risk falling prey to his own weapon.
    "Tammerain needs be on a functioning Hyclarion as quickly as possible in order to use the might of the Empire to control his own people as well as the rest of the Consortium. I believe Tammerain has secured the assistance of the other Dukes based on a fictional plan of restoring the Lizard royal line on Hyclarion. However, based on his actions to date, as well as his personality, he is planning to double-cross them and take the throne himself. Such a tactic is common in the Lizard culture and would be greatly admired if he can pull it off.
    "That possibility must also be weighed against the very real possibility that the other Dukes are as aware of his plans as we are and have taken steps to ensure it fails. Either way, if the Lizards are allowed to make this assault, it would be a very bad thing for all humans in the Galaxy." She paused. "How certain am I? About eighty percent certain that he will destroy the entire planet. I'm a hundred percent certain he will use those troops here in some capacity."
    While she had been speaking, the other two Councilors joined the meeting.
    "Councilor Juno has a question," Mother intoned.
    Ben nodded to the Councilor. "Good Morning Brothers and Sisters, I apologize for being late. Prime Council, although we are gaining much knowledge of the outside world through monitoring your interactions, will you be bringing the Ranger Commander here for us to interview as well?"
    Ben was surprised. He hadn't believed the Council would even want to speak to her. "Honestly, I hadn't even considered that you would want to speak to her. Although we have not hidden anything from them, the Rangers do not have an accurate idea of how large a population we actually have beyond a vague 'a lot'. I thought you would want to keep yourselves isolated from them for the time being, so I have tried to limit her interactions to just our local pod group. However, if you would like to speak to her, I can easily ask her if she would be willing to meet with all of you."
    "I think it is more our own curiosity driving us, Prime. She seems a very friendly and personable individual. Very approachable and open. I think it is simply we would like to get to know her and her organization better," Councilor Juno explained.
    Ben nodded his understanding. "She is a nice person and I will admit I enjoy speaking to her. Would you like me to ask if she would be willing to meet with you here, in a non-official capacity, based on your curiosity? As she has done with me, she could give you a much better idea about what we are actually facing by declaring this planet our homeworld."
    "Councilor Yinshi wishes to speak," Mother said.
    Ben smiled at the diminutive man. "Yes Councilor?"
    "I think her insights will be very good for us to hear. I only caught part of what she told you, and I do have questions about it. If nothing else, could you inquire on our behalf if she would be willing to come