Galaxy's Only Triple-S: Five Lords Can't Hold Her novel Chapter 203

Chapter 203 I Want to Talk to Lesley

Chapter 203 I Want to Talk to Lesley

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The shielding field around the Stillstar Galaxy was too strong for a standard Holo-bracelet signal. Getting word to Timothy and Baar meant heading down to the abandoned stone well.

The two of them took the familiar route to the comms core three levels underground. Tyrone swept his fingers across the living-metal control panel, and an encrypted five-way comm group flickered to life.

He’d punched in the group name without a second thought: “Ms. Greene & Her Minions.”

Margaret shot him a flat look and opened the group call.

Two holographic screens lit up at once.

Timothy appeared against the backdrop of his chaotic office, golden hair a mess but his blue eyes blazing.

Baar sat in his command chair aboard a starship, Federation uniform crisp, the deep hum of warship engines rumbling through the audio feed.

“My Lady!” Timothy’s voice boomed through the room, loud enough to echo off the walls. “The starport on Prime Planet is completely paralyzed! Those three old ministers grabbed ships and ran, so I had their offshore accounts frozen. Every last one. They won’t walk away with a single credit!”

“Nice work,” Margaret said.

Baar scoffed coldly and adjusted his camera angle, leaning in until his face filled more of the screen. “Say the word and I’ll punch straight through their defense line. I can bring the Empire under Federation control.”

The full weight of his command authority came through even across the comms link.

“Hold your fire for now.” Margaret tapped the edge of the control panel with her fingers. “The timing’s about right. I want to talk to Lesley.”

A brief silence settled over the comm channel. Baar’s brow creased slightly, a flicker of hesitation crossing his gold eyes.

As the commander of the Federal Military, his instincts ran toward the obvious move-the Empire was in chaos, so why not send in the fleet and swallow it whole? A clean, permanent solution.

But he didn’t argue. He just watched Margaret through the screen, waiting.

She read the thought on his face and laid out the situation with surgical clarity, “Baar, I know you want to take the Empire outright. But the Federation isn’t yours alone to command. You’ve still got those council politicians to deal with. If the Federation absorbs the Empire, the spoils will be carved up by the Council. When the dust settles and the rewards get handed out, the real power might not land in our hands.”

She paused, her voice steady and certain. “Besides, regimes that grow too powerful and unopposed tend to collapse fast. We need the Empire as a buffer and we need to keep that power firmly in our own hands. Not hand it over to the Federation Council as a gift.”

At the words “we” and “our own hands,” the tension in Baar’s expression melted away. She had placed him firmly in her camp. They were on the same side. That sense of being trusted, of being included-it seuled

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Chapter 203 I Want to Talk to Lesley

over him with a warmth he hadn’t expected.

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“I’ll follow your lead.” He leaned back in his chair, the corner of his mouth curving up despite himself. “What do you need from me?”

“Keep the exercises going. The bigger the show, the better. I want maximum pressure.” Margaret turned to Timothy’s screen. “Timothy, leak word that the Hurst Group is preparing to pull all investment out of the Empire. Let Lesley see exactly what kind of mess she’s facing.”

“Understood!” Timothy snapped his fingers. “I’ll send her blood pressure through the roof!”

After the three-way call ended, Margaret waited several hours before turning to Tyrone. “Patch me through to Lesley’s private channel.”

Tyrone set down his coffee, undisguised admiration in his green eyes. He liked this about her-the clean, decisive way she moved when it was time to strike.

“Right away, Ms. Greene.”

His fingers flew across the control panel, punching through layers of firewalls to force entry into the Imperial inner court’s encrypted channel.

“You’re connected.” He stepped back and gave her the seat.

The holographic screen flickered to life. The feed wavered slightly, the backdrop a top-tier intensive care suite at Central Hospital. Machines monitoring vital signs beeped in a steady, monotonous rhythm.

Lesley lay against the pillows of the sickbed. The once carefully maintained face had gone ashen, skin hanging loose over her bones.

But even at this stage, she held herself with a noble’s dignity. No screaming. No hysterics. Only those clouded eyes, sharp with suspicion and regal authority.

“Margaret.” Lesley’s voice was weak, but the gravitas of decades of rule still resonated in every word. “I underestimated you. Greven’s downfall was your doing.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.” Margaret sat back in her chair, relaxed, and made no effort to deny it. “This wasn’t much of a scheme. I simply laid the truth right at your feet.”

Lesley studied her, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. “You threw Prime Planet into chaos. You pushed the Cabinet into rebellion, You brought Federation warships to my border. And now you’ve cut into my private channel. Are you here to gloat over my downfall, or to rub your victory in my face?”

“Neither. I’m here to make a deal. Margaret leaned forward, direct and unadorned. “I want the position of Imperial Regent. Full authority over all military and administrative affairs, with Prince Norman installed as heir under my supervision.”

The hospital room went deathly still.

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