[He watches as the couch pillow goes flying at Matt, not even bothering to hide how his brow quirks higher and his amusement seems to spill over the edges of his expression. Stephen clears his throat, skewing back into the more somber tone this conversation deserves.

The war. Right.]

This reeks of “unprepared” on all sides, which makes me agree; I don’t think it’s too much of a conspiracy theory to suggest there’s a fourth player in this.

[It might as well be a foregone conclusion at this point, as far as he’s concerned.]

The real million dollar question is this: what do they stand to gain from war? Distraction? A shift of power?

[Or, as the idea was floated over the network, real, actual power from the lives lost?]