"Hmm, if there's no guarantee for our citizen's protection, such direct reconstruction won't do", said Lyora. She had not quite expected such violence from the Coalition's civilians, since the offensive had not targeted them. Evidently, the Coalition's small number of troops and tendency to attack from the shadows had left the NPA without a clear enemy, and there had been accidental civilian casualties. "We had enough losses on that planet during the war, no need to lose even more people."

Lyora reached for one of her antennae and gave it a tug, a sign of nervousness or frustration. Like almost everyone in the Union, she looked down on the use of money, but money would have been an easy way to solve the dilemma at hand.