The two old marshals' eyes lit up. They felt this was indeed a viable solution. A fleet that could move and fight would reassure the dignitaries on Earth while also rushing to the most urgent fronts when necessary.
Put simply, that was exactly the role the First Fleet, long stationed in the Solar System, had once played. Of course, after basking in the System's prosperity for so long, the Commonwealth's most powerful fleet on paper had become little more than a collection of pinned specimens. That was probably one of the reasons for the disastrous defeat at the Ring of Miracles.
But regardless of whether it was to reassure the dignitaries on Earth or to meet the needs of national defense and military strategy, rebuilding a fleet capable of mobile operations was indeed necessary.
And so, the three men, whose combined ages exceeded two hundred and fifty, got back to work. They kept a group of exhausted headquarters officers up all night again and finally drafted a new plan to rebuild the fleet.
"Tomorrow—well, today—I'll take this plan to Congress," Chair Maxwell said. "I'll do everything I can to persuade the president and vice president."
As long as President Nihita and Vice President Yellen gave their approval, the chances of Congress passing it were high... Of course, how long that would take was an entirely different matter.
"Thanks for all your hard work, Chairman," Marshal Parris said. "Come to think of it, although we can't exactly call ourselves friends, these past two years of cooperation have been quite pleasant, at least professionally."
Chair Maxwell gave a bitter smile. "Let's hope things stay pleasant to the end. Once we've made it through this war, I'll take responsibility and resign. In fact, if it weren't for the war, I would've resigned long