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Run That’s what they say We fled Luna asince, because the Sovereign was crafty and her forces beat us to Mars

This is not how I thought it would go But then again, none of this is my damn fault Cautious bloody fools surround the ArchGovernor Golds too frightened to lose all the favor and power they’ve gained in the past to risk any of it now Worse, they squeeze ainst ain is their loss Even those who followed my lead on Luna Even those I saved from certain death They do the same to the Jackal, and they think it a victory he is not here in this roo with them Their mistake

I sit ten chairs down from my master at the ship, the six-kilo is fortyA carved relief of a lion glares out from the center of the table Over forty places are eustus like rats fro ship Those with us are Pliny, Praetor Kavax, his son Daxo, and a half a hundred of Augustus’s lare atso childish These Golds preside over a billion souls So they siustus about reement, then, with the ArchGovernor of Callisto? Are we undone?" Augustus derand doors hiss open, retracting into thean apple hand to hand

"Apologies for ives hi

"I sent word over an hour ago," Augustus says

"Oh?" Mustang spares a look at Pliny "I must havefor hs at the joke Only the Tele, sheDaxo and Kavax on their shoulders as she passes Kavax greets her with ru, ords She sits and kicks her ? Of course I didn’t Dithering as always?"

Her father’s cheek twitches "This is not a stable" He eyes her boots Sighing, she brings her boots down and shines the apple on her black sleeve

She’s one of a very feorippina au Julii should be here, but it was her betrayal that depleted Augustus’s fleet of the numbers he needed to capture Mars quickly And it was her betrayal that’s ustus put men on Victra to make sure her loyalty to him is true It took nearly all of

We’ve been chased from the Core worlds here, far beyond the orbital path of Mars Our asteroid ustus’s cities, those that did not surrender already to the Sovereign, are besieged Not to mention there are bounties for our heads The old hest bounty behind Augustus

"Before ere interrupted," Augustus continues, "I believe so their pos--" Snap His voice falls away as Mustang takes a loud bite of her apple She looks around at the annoyed faces I stifle a laugh

"My liege" Pliny leans forward "I’m afraid there is no alternative but to continue our tactical retreat If things continue in this e, will be tried for--" Snap He flinches before finishing, "--treason" He looks around the table to his bought-and-paid-for allies "There is but one path available to us"

"Continue to run with our fleet till Vespasian’s reinforceustus murmurs "In six months"

The Politico nods "Or surrender"

"Would that you had killed Octavia when you had the chance, boy," Kavax says

"If I had, everyone here would be dead," I reply

Daxo nods "He "

"Why didn’t you kill Octavia?" Pliny squints at me skeptically