Not one shot was fired today, and still you could hear Haven's boots from here. Its man ArchAspect marched a force of 500 out of the Red capital, set columns of 100 behind it, and planted posts of 25 troops apiece in a ring around his own hills — close enough together to pass a cup of coffee from one to the next.

Machines need oil, and Haven's spies brought their own. Parties as thin as 5 men each turned up within sight of Blue land, at Fleurecourt, at AnotherFaction, at Predacons, at PenguinPack, at Zelotypia, at Chillie. Parties of 15 padded along the Fleurecourt borders besides. Counting our barns, no doubt. Pricing our fences.

This is what a provocation looks like while it is still wearing slippers. Let them count. The farmer, the miner and the builder have done their own arithmetic, and it comes out Blue.