[Gozra]

It was the worse cabinet meeting I ever held. We were all shocked and stunned. The Kor had broken the trade treaty and gone to war with us. We had depended on their government's integrity and had not prepared accordingly. I could see the shock and anger on the faces of the cabinet members as we watched the newscast come in from the frontier. The litany of death and destruction went on and on. The sudden shock of seeing the name of the ship that one of my daughter's served on listed as destroyed instantly threaded through my whole body. My assistant put her hand on my shoulder at that moment I just felt numb. The bad news went on and on. Colonies gone, millions dead, dozens of proud ships destroyed. Where had we gone wrong? We were looking forward to the commission that the Sonne had offered as a way out of this crisis.
The Kor had called us "Mad"again and again but we had dismissed it as rhetoric and now we had come to the realization that they were referring to themselves.
I had the main screen turned off and the silence was filled with grief and anger. I looked up and all were looking at their personal screens in front of them with expressions ranging from neutral to anger, shock and grief. More than one of us had Daughters and Sons in the Fleet.
I hardly remember what I said so the following is transcribed from the meeting record.

President Ralen Stood leaning forward both fist leaning on the smooth polished finish of the Conference table. He cleared his throat
"Well, I never thought the Kor would choose war over diplomacy but choose it they did. At this point I don't know if it would do any good to pursue a Diplomatic solution or not. One thing is Clear Admiral Leary is cut off from help at the moment and we must reopen those lines again. War is a politician's failure and a soldier's nightmare. I propose that every Effort be made to defend ourselves from the Kor. We need to stand firm in the face of Kor aggression. I am implementing the Kiehl protocols and placing the Alliance under wartime conditions. I hope this situation can be resolved speedily but if not we need to be prepared for the worst. All of you have supported me in the past and we have prospered. I expect your full support now and pray that we will be guided by the almighty in the successful defense of our homes and families. My friends we will not be bullied. We will stand firm in our resolve to do what is right for our people and our Alliance. We will do what is necessary to insure our continued security. Where there is weakness we will build strength. Where there is hopelessness we will bring hope. Where there is slavery we will bring freedom. Where there is despair we will bring courage. Where there are ashes of defeat we will bring Victory."

With out another word the president stood tall and carefully looked at each and every person nodded and left the room.

Excerpt from "Furnace of Victory" memories of a wartime President.
Published by Titan press publications 2416.2 (SGT)