The senior military officials of Earth convened an emergency meeting.
High general Evander, who was supposed to attend the meeting backed out at the last minute.
No one blamed him though. Steelheart was covering up for Bali's absence and was incredibly busy.
Rumors say that he was searching for the theoretical Time Awakeners so that he could get 25 hours a day.
Alas, the human race doesn't seem to have an affinity with that divine path.
In Evander's stead, Cail Xander headed the meeting.
As the brother of the former Xander family head and Sovereign Ceaser Xander, Cail had a lot of authority.
He had taken a backseat in recent years from the solar politics. Even on earth, he appeared more in academies and training halls and less in barracks.
Yet, no one could deny his influence. Some experts opine that if not for his active withdrawal, he'd have been the high general of Earth, not Evander.