In their shared office on Corellia, Five Worlds Prime Ministers Denjax Teppler and Genna Delpin - who were now officially running the entire Confederation - spoke to the hologram of Admiral Phennir on the desk between them.

"So far, Prime Ministers," Phennir reported, "with the help of the Imperial Remnant, the Hapes Consortium has taken exactly eighty-seven point nine percent of the territory that it took from the Galactic Alliance and now us. My experts in the war room estimate that in three days time, if they keep up the assaults they've been throwing against us, the combined forces of the Imperials and the Hapans will take back all of the space that we just took from the Consortium. And unfortunately, with the Confederation's forces in the shape we're in now, what with all these attacks whittling away our numbers, as well as the Galactic Alliance still needing another solid year to rebuild their forces, there doesn't seem any way that we can fight back against the Remnant and the Consortium."

"So what do you suggest we do, Admiral?" Delpin asked.

"Well, given how bad the Imperials and Hapans are overwhelming us so far..." Phennir trailed off and looked away from either Prime Minister.

"Go on, what's your plan, Admiral?" Teppler urged.

"I say we disband our partnership with the Galactic Alliance and go back to leading the territory we had when the Second Galactic Civil War ended," Phennir blurted.

"Abandon the Galactic Alliance?" Teppler asked.

Phennir nodded nervously.

"Just how badly have we lost in forces so far, Admiral Phennir?" Delpin asked.

"Well, while it may not seem like much, we've lost about forty-nine point seven percent of our forces to the Imperial-Hapan alliance, Prime Minister Delpin," Phennir explained. "But given how powerful that the Imperials and the Hapans are together, and how very little support the Galactic Alliance can offer us now-"

"I understand, Admiral," Delpin said, waving a hand to silence Phennir. "We've lost almost half our own forces while the Remnant and the Consortium are still going strong." She then looked back up to her fellow Prime Minister. "Denjax, I think that it's most logical that we follow with Phennir's plan and abandon the war entirely."

"And just leave the Galactic Alliance to die?" Phennir asked.

"Even if we were on better terms with the Alliance to begin with," Delpin argued, "continuing this effort against the Hapans and the Imperials will only harm the Confederation. As well, even if we did win, and gain half of the Galactic Alliance's territory, we'd be spread too thin by that point anyway. We should be more concerned about retreating back to our own territory, licking our own wounds, and fortify what we already have."

Teppler grimaced. "But we'd be giving the galaxy back to the Empire."

"And what's wrong with that?" asked Phennir, a former Imperial himself. "Let me remind you, Prime Minister Teppler, leaving out my past with the Empire altogether, there are two things that should assuage any apprehension you may have about this. One, the Remnant would be sharing the territory it's captured with the Consortium. And two, Head of State Vitor Reige isn't at all like Palpatine or any other Imperial was."

"Oh, I understand the Hapan angle, Admiral," Teppler said. "But it's not Reige I'm concerned about when it comes to the Empire. I'm more concerned about the treacherous Moff Council that pines for the days of Palpatine."

"Reige has a better hold on the Moffs than Jagged Fel or Gilad Pellaeon ever had, Prime Minister, in case you didn't notice from the way he's been leading his government so far," Phennir argued. "The Empire's in good hands, and so would the rest of the galaxy after the Galactic Alliance finally dies out."

"Along with whatever remained of the Rebel Alliance or the New Republic, eh, Admiral Phennir?" Teppler said with an undertone of scorn.

Phennir frowned at the implied accusation that he would take joy in seeing what the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to establish crumble into oblivion. "Regardless of whatever feelings I may have about this matter, Prime Minister Teppler, I know that Prime Minister Delpin will agree with me that by allowing the Hapans and the Imperials to win this war by pulling out as soon as possible, we will help the Confederation more than harm it. And that's more of a priority than the status of the Galactic Alliance can and will ever be to us."

"He's right, Denjax, I do agree with him," Delpin said to her fellow Prime Minister. "It's pretty safe to say that, what with all their losses now, the Galactic Alliance has lost almost all the power it's had on the greater galaxy. We have no choice but to declare our departure from this war if we want to avoid sharing the fate of the Alliance and suffer total destruction ourselves."

Teppler sighed in defeat. But just as quickly, his resolve came back to him as he argued, "Well, who's to say that the Imperials and Hapans will stop with us after we do pull out? For all we know, they could just as well attack us just out of revenge and not even think about the territory they can gain from our fallen government if they were to win."

"So why do you think that a peace treaty won't work?" Delpin asked. "Even if you're still apprehensive about the Moffs and the treacherous Hapans, Denjax, I'm pretty sure than Head of State Reige and Queen Mother Solo can see reason and keep to order and peace if we sue for it."

"If I may, Prime Minister Delpin," Phennir interjected, "I don't think that Prime Minister Teppler is concerned about the Confederation's well-being as much as he is the Galactic Alliance's."

Delpin looked at Teppler with pity in her expression.

But the latter shook his head. "It's not the Galactic Alliance. I just don't feel comfortable at all knowing that if we just abandon them, billions of people are going to die under Hapan-Imperial rule, and not just Alliance soldiers."

Delpin and Phennir looked at Teppler, sharing confused looks. "What makes you think either the Head of State or the Queen Mother would be so callous as to begin exterminating civilians, Prime Minister Teppler?" the admiral asked.

"Just imagine the widespread chaos and rioting that would take place with the fall of the Galactic Alliance on worlds like Coruscant," Teppler argued. "Her Majesty and Reige will have no choice but to resort to fatal violence if they'd want to begin establishing order and peace."

"You know what I think, Denjax?" Delpin asked.

"What's that, Genna?" Teppler replied.

"I think Admiral Phennir is right again," she answered. "You're too much of an Alliance sympathizer to let them go."

"And what if I am?" Teppler asked.

Delpin shook her head in pity. "I'm afraid we can't have that, Denjax, not at a time like this, anyway," she said.

"So what are you going to do about it?" he asked.

Delpin shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll try to convince you as best I can that leaving this war is the best option..."

She trailed off at the site of a holdout blaster being leveled up to her by Teppler, which was then set to lethal.

"As long as I also run this government, Genna," Teppler said, "I'll make sure that we don't abandon this war and let the Galactic Alliance die."

"Denjax," Delpin said as she held up her hands in surrender, "you don't want to do this."

"You're right, I don't, but I certainly don't want to leave this war either," he said.

"Well, if that's the case..." She deliberately trailed off this time before her right boot kicked open a small hatch on the floor under her and Teppler's desk, exposing a small red button. A second later, she stepped on that button, sending an electrical charge up through Teppler's chair that knocked him unconscious, the blaster dropping from his hand and to the floor.

"Well, while Prime Minister Teppler will spend about a month in a jail cell for treason," Delpin said to Phennir, "I will take sole office. Do you have any problem with that, Admiral Phennir?"

The admiral shook his head. "It only makes things less complicated, in my opinion."