She'd had support nearby, of course, off the coast. It was a flagrant breach of diplomatic protocols, but she never took any chances and 'exercises' were such a good excuse for anything, even if nobody believed them. But she had been waiting for trouble, and it had come.

And so she had summoned up what she'd brought. She'd run out to meet them, tired though she was, hopping onto the passenger side railing of the lead truck. Ten of them, all told - but not soldiers. Not many, at any rate. Just a handful of guards. But what pulled up was a relief column in the truest sense of the words - packed to the brim with medical supplies, foodstuffs, and the sundries needed to preserve life.

And evacuate wounded to the old waiting hospital ship currently anchored off the Florida coast. She wished she'd planned that. But that had been an accident. One of oh so many that she found herself tied to. But that was the benefit of being the second-in-command of an imperium, wasn't it?

Even if she might not be that for much longer.