But Kevin came out of his thoughts soon enough. He shook his head to clear it, refocused, and addressed William's question.
"That..." Kevin said after a moment of contemplation, "...is something beyond my direct authority, Mr. William. I can raise it with the Federation Council, of course. But whether they'd allow someone like you to enter with command authority—that's a decision only they can make."
He paused, then added with more certainty, "However, if it's just formal membership in the Federation—joining as a citizen, not a military or political figure—then yes. That's within my power to grant. The rest… as you said, can be discussed later."
Kevin knew very well what kind of game-changer William could be for the Federation and humanity as a whole. But no matter how valuable an ally he might be, Kevin couldn't act outside his jurisdiction—especially not when it came to introducing such a potentially overwhelming force into the political structure of the Federation.
