The triumvirate met together in the Locus tower at the center of Noxumber. The tower was an extension of their senate chambers but served the same function as a presidential office. Inside there were three seats attached to holoprojection tables, all arrayed in a shallow semi-circle opposite one wall which they used for long distance holographic meetings.

Eris and the Spartan king were already there when Adam arrived. Eris was still in her pajamas, and King James was as he normally was, draped partially in his red cape, chest bare to show his glorious abs to the world. He was one of the few men Adam knew who could pull of leather underwear, but, to be fair, when you looked as good as the King did, you could wear anything and make it look good.

Adam wore a T shirt and jeans, and held Kay on one hip not having had the time to find him a babysitter before Conn arrived so unceremoniously. It was close to his bedtime, and Kay yawned hugely resting his head against Adam's chest.

Conn, Sunny, Krill, and Riss followed behind, the only others who had been witness to the sudden news of Earth's invasion.

Ramirez had phoned in and announced that he and Mavrick were on their way though it would take them a few minutes.

King James greeted them with a nod and smiled at Kay, "Quite the strapping young man already."

Kay smiled groggily and reached one hand out to the king. He was a very social child, and didn't really mind who held him at any given moment. King James gladly accepted Kay, who made himself quite comfortable against one of the Spartan's massive pecs. Adam smirked, knowing a few people who would probably be jealous.

But his grim amusement was cut off for a time as one of the Triumverate clerks came into the room, "Sir, you're being hailed."

"Adam took the center seat with Eris and King James doing the same, still holding kay as he did. Sunny moved to stand behind Adam's chair her spear held lightly in one hand and resting against the floor.

"Who?"

The Clerk shifted awkwardly not sure how to move forward before, "Sir, its president Hunt."

Andrew stiffened slightly.

At the far end of the room the door opened, and Lord Celex strolled into the room, "What does that bald domed bastard want." He snapped. Celex was barefoot, his long multicolor hair in tangles around his shoulders and face. He looked like he had gotten dressed in a hurry, which gave Adam sneaking suspicions. Celex was, ironically very popular with some of the locals, and while he couldn't exactly recreate his harem.....

The clerk shifted awkwardly again, "I don't know, he won't speak to me. Says he wants to talk to President Vir."

Adam snorted, "Did he call me that or are you just being polite."

"he was.... Actually quite cordial on the phone, sir."

He looked over at the other members of the Triumvirate looking for second opinions.

Eris shrugged, "No reason not to at least take his call."Up ahead the

King James nodded as well, "We have the high ground here. His world has been invaded, he is at a distinct emotional and psychological disadvantage. And if the invasion continues he is also at a sociological, and economic disadvantage. There is no reason for us to not take this call."

Adam nodded once.

Lord Celex stopped on Adam's other side resting a hand on his seat. As a Maker Lord Celex arguably could have taken over Arcadia and installed himself as ruler. No one would have been able to stop him, and Adam imagined, he could have done this even before he died. But ever since the man had come back from Kazna's clutches he was..... a bit different. He didn't seem interested in power which was a shocker considering he had blown up a planet once to quash a rebellion.

Still having him at Adam's left hand was a good demonstration of his own authority and power.

Before them the projection field flickered, until it seemed that they were staring through a window into President Hunt's office in Alexandria. The room was in disarray, papers thrown everywhere and chirs overturned, outside, through the window behind him, Adam could see a night sky flickering with red light. Distant sirens sounded across the city . Red and blue police lights blinked nonstop.

President hunt had clearly not had the time to pull himself together. Instead of his normal three piece suit, he was wearing sweatpants sneakers and a rumbled long sleeve T shirt under a ballistic vest. A helmet lay on the desk just to his left. Three massive security guards stood behind them, one in a suit and two others in full black tactical gear. All of them looked on edge, one of them had a hand on Hunt ready to pull him out the door if the need were to arise.

Adam shifted in his seat. This was more serious than he had first imagined.

"Hunt, what's going on."

The man's voice was beleaguered and strained, "earth is under attack by Void creatures, and it's spreading fast. One quarter of Mericanda has been infected , and pockets of void influence had cropped up all over the globe. Void creatures are..... spawning and spreading. I have mobilized the entire global military to combat them but there is only so much we can do."

There was a murmuring around the room.

Adam was speechless for a moment.

Good thing his son wasn't

Half asleep against the Spartan King's chest, kay cracked an eye to groggily look at the strange man in the holographic projection, and announced, loudly, to the entire room his opinion on the subject.

"Dumbass!"

Adam felt his face flush red, and watched as Hunt did the same. The spartan king barked a laugh and Adam raised his hands, "I did, not tell him to do that I swear to the Architect. He learned that word ten minutes ago, and hasn't stopped saying t."

Off to the side, Kay had gone back to his comfortable napping position, pleased with himself and completely unbothered by his sudden introduction to intergalactic politics . Conn was at least tactful enough to cover his mouth so no one could see he was laughing, though lord Celex was openly grinning.

"President Hunt, we don't have much time." One of the men warned glancing nervously towards the door.

"Look, Vir, I'm not above begging. All I ever wanted was to keep earth safe. I would have done anything to make that happen, and I DID what I thought was right. Turns out I made the wrong call, and now, I find myself ostracized from anyone who might have helped us. So this call is the only chance I have with the only person who might consider helping me after everything I have done."

It was hard to tell if that was true remorse in the man's voice, or if he was just trying to manipulate Adam. He was a politician after all so the latter was more likely than the former , but Conn could corroborate the man's story. Earth was under attack , and Hunt's pride would usually be too much even to pretend to need Adam's help.

This was truly a dire situation.

Adam already knew what his decision would be, but he looked over at the others.

Adam didn't believe I retaliation by letting innocent people die. He could disagree with the government of earth all he wanted but at the end of the day..... Earth was his home. He missed her cool breezes and warm sunlight. He missed the quiet street he grew up on as a kid. He missed the flowers and the cold biting wind of winter.

He missed the sky filling with thunderheads, and he missed the sound of the forest at night.

No matter what Hunt had done, Earth was....

Well it was Earth, the origin of human life.

He couldn't abandon her.

Looking around at the other faces he saw a mix of emotions. King James was having a similar struggle to him. Eris gave him a look that was both sad and worried. Celex frowned knuckles turning white as he gripped Adam's chair, but he didn't turn up his nose. Behind him, sunny rested a hand on his shoulder.

Everyone stared at him expectantly.

He tilted his head looking for conformation.

Sunny was the first to nod and the rest of the room followed suit.

Adam turned to look at Hunt, "You understand if you screw me, I will hunt you down and give you a one way ticket to Revelation."

The man nodded but there was some measure of hope in his face, "You'll help."

Adam stood from his chair.

"Prepare, for an Iron storm."