-[X] "For three years I endured the peace, but that was in a different place to here and now. Since taking command of this sector I have prospered despite it, with the NASP showing little desire to hold to their side of the treaty. And now, well, their actions have given me back in a handful of months a force equal to the one that took every week of those three years to take. Oh, it will take time to sharpen them, but victory today will give me that." This is as close to a shot at her as we can take, an oblique reference to the time after the war where no one offered aid. Not her, not anyone. It's staking out a position, that we won't be led to market by the lure of jewels.
-[X] "The treaty will break eventually, I have little doubt of that. I have been doing all I can to prepare for that day, and successfully too. Too much blood has been spilled between the Imperium and these worlds that call themselves a union. But recall, Viscountess, that it was not the Imperium's lack of strength that brought the war to a close. It was foreign interference by the Earth Sphere, a power none of us can touch. Do you think their 'concerned citizens' will sit by and watch the toy they created for their amusement be torn apart? No. If war comes, it must be the NASP that incites it." The Earth Sphere's power is incalculable, this is a Known Truth (regardless of how utterly ridiculous a Dyson Sphere out to the orbit of Saturn is given current technological limitations). If we burn one of the NASP's worlds and goad them forward, there's always the threat of that NGO throwing a tantrum at us breaking their toy. This is openly disrespectful of the NASP and the Earth Sphere, but the simple truth is that there's certainly far more the Sphere can do to hammer the Imperium if we strike first.
-[X] "Or, the NASP can be forced to break. You must know how fragile their alliance is, this patchwork of dozens of different powers, forced together with the promise of safety and Earther meddling. This planet is a perfect example, their insane commitment to democracy at all levels behind an assault that could be used to justify their conquest. The NASP is strong when they are together, but as Chuang Mu itself has shown, weak when its parts are forced out of alignment. You would make them strong again." This is politics, pure and simple. The NASP is designed as a power that will get stronger in the face of full war. The central worlds would likely be able to bludgeon the signatories into working for them, and the result would be a peer power to the Imperium, fully formed, and with a minor technological advantage to counter the Imperial Navy's numbers (an advantage that is still only slim).
-[X] "To be clear, I have little fear of the NASP. Like any transitory power, they will break or fade as the Imperium endures through the strength of the traditions upon which it was founded." This is somewhat propaganda reel, but it's also another careful shot at her actions here. The Imperium's traditions cover everything from Noble privilege to the honour to treat those who wish to surrender with all dignity.
-[X] "I am not blind to reality, Viscountess. I know why the Imperial Navy has called its strength back to the core worlds. And I know, too, that I was sent here with the full expectation that I would fail. I have yet to do so, and that you are even here proves that. So now you come to me with an appeal, an offer, one that even a year ago I might have taken gladly. Now?" This is realpolitik, let's treat it as such. Setup for the next section.
-[X] "I have some inkling of what you might wish of me, but an alliance cannot be based on such transitory things. You know that my implants cannot record what you say here, and you have clearly studied my history enough to know that I am a man little taken by the games of court. You want me for my skill on the field of battle, a blind man could see that. But now an enemy that has fought well has offered their surrender and while the unwritten rules of war may seem quaint and hypocritical from certain perspectivesm adhering to them provides concrete long-term military advantage that I will not throw away. There are better ways to bring order to this anarchist rabble which promise us no less glory. You are welcome to join me on the Sword to discuss this further, once the battle is done." This isn't being settled today. If she wants us, she needs to be up front about what she's offering and what she wants in return. We're not making an uninformed decision on a matter this vast on what's little more than a whisper of a possibility. She puts her cards on the table now, or we talk about this later. This is, again, a minor shot at her. She sprung us on this, no doubt deliberately. We're not getting caught up by that ploy.
