Daina was displeased with the Anoiwanian leader's choice. She didn't possess the authority to cause an international incident with the islanders. Putting her flagship in the line of fire left a foul taste on her tongue, but there was wisdom behind it. Antioch was much smaller than the Karlsland class that was spotted by her scouts, and likely wouldn't do much for intimidation. However, the threat of a Voldricht fleet hovering in international waters may. Daina summoned her officers.<br/><br/>"Commander Avira, rally the flotilla and draw them further out to sea, we don't want to cause any trouble with the Fortunans. Stay in communication range, if negotiations with the Karlslandic fleet go south we'll need you ready to deploy. Alert me the minute the battle group is in range."<br/><br/>"Understood ma'm."<br/><br/>Avira nodded and ducked out of the bridge.<br/><br/>If the Dictator wanted to do it his way so be it. The flotilla split, Daina and the Antioch powering towards Ahta-Matoi's capital while the carrier lead the rest of the Voldricht ships to international waters. It didn't take long for the cruiser to reach the harbor. The Antioch pulled into the harbor, the large ship dwarfed by the size of the Karlslandic battleship already docked in the bay. Daina felt her palms begin to sweat, she was in way over her head. For all the bluster she put forward she wasn't ready for this. She secretly cursed herself for agreeing to the Dictator's wishes, desiring nothing more than to return to her flotilla and wait for the Voldricht battle group to arrive. Antioch anchored, holding fast in the shadow of the Karlslandic ship. She wished she had some means of communicating with the local government aside from sending an away party, but a radio transmission without a dedicated channel would be easily picked up by the Karlslandic soldiers. Instead she waited, carefully watching the colossus across the bay. She barked at a nearby officer.<br/><br/>"Ensign, find Lieutenant Aith and relay these orders. I want all hands to battle stations, try to keep activity on the upper decks discrete, we don't want to send the wrong message, but we need to be prepared should the worst come to pass. Our ship may be able to secure an early advantage in the closed space of the bay, /if/ we can catch them by surprise. Tell her to keep the engines running, we need to be able to get up to speed quickly."<br/><br/>"Aye captain."<br/><br/>The ensign nodded before disappearing from the bridge. Daina muttered a prayer to a god she wasn't sure she believed in. 'Just let them go away, I don't want to die for trade rights.'