VOTGW-3

=Chapter 3=
==Vignettes of the General War==
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~Office of the Director-General, Geneva, Terra, February 18th, 2580~
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Chancellor Ursula Liao didn't look terribly surprised as Director-General Ian Cameron finished reading the message.
"Marion was never going to be happy about it," the Chancellor said. "And I didn't really expect old Alexander to show up. Even so, I certainly hope I haven't come all this way for nothing."
Ian sighed. It wasn't really surprising that the most reasonable of the lot would have been the Capellans. It was their lives on the line, after all. Even so, the level of resistance among the Davions and the Leaguers was surprising. He'd thought Alexander would have at least been willing to talk... and with Davion and Liao in the same room, the League, even given Marion Marik's personal grudge, might have done no more than complain.
"The situation is more delicate than expected." he said.
"That is essentially the motto of the Capellan state," Chancellor Liao replied. "We've had greater powers squeezing us from all directions for as long as we've existed, so we've had to rely on... unorthodox tactics at times." She sighed. "Regrettably, we have made the occasional mistake in doing so."
She offered a forlorn grin. "Do you think I could salvage this alliance if I said we were sorry?"
Ian recognized it as a joke, but didn't laugh. Marion Marik's hatred was personal, and apparently Alexander Davion's wounds from the civil war ran deeper than anybody had realized. Dealing with the Taurian problem was supposed to have been a show of what old enemies could do united for a common cause. 
But he was beginning to realize that Admiral Franklin had been right. Before the Great Houses were willing to talk about unity, they needed to see what they might face if they refuse it and continue on this destructive path.
"You aren't leaving empty handed," he said. "With your permission, I will be signing orders to move eight line squadrons into Capellan space, with orders to repel the Taurian invasion and enforce an equitable settlement." 
Chancellor Liao seemed honestly surprised. "That... that is extremely generous. But what of the other Houses?"
"This deployment is solely to deal with the Taurian threat," Ian replied. "Nothing else. Marik and Davion can posture all they want, but they'll accept it rather than push it to war."
He was sure he sounded confident, and why shouldn't he be? Eight line squadrons represented roughly a hundred and fifty WarShips, a third of them battleships. It was a larger force than any of the other powers could muster, and it was only a fraction of the Hegemony's total strength, out there demonstrating exactly what the Hegemony could do if roused to anger.
So what was this feeling of dread?
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