Council hall. Earth. The first day of the council.
King Dimitry of Slavius sat in the decorated meeting hall. He calmly took one more look at the projected agenda for today's meeting. The two most likely topics to be adressed were the wo and the civil war in Kurtiye.
He though about the war raging relatively close to his own domain. Dimitry did not intend to pick a side in the war, it would only invite both sides to spill the conflict over to his own domain. He didn't quite know what to think of the wo yet. Like many more conservative intellectuals, he had regarded them as nothing more than an urban legend before this week. Their behaviour in this council would quite shape his opinion of them going forward.
The emperor of Sol was stirred from his musings by the sound of the grand door on the far side of the hall creacking open. It appeared the other representatives had arrived. "Welcome, my good guests. Take a seat... I foresee we will be having quite a long meeting today."
Wen Ten Xei, the Most Serene One, stood in a regal bearing, flanked by two of her massive Honor Guards. To Dimitry, she bowed gracefully, gave her thanks, and proceeded to her appointed seat. As her dress trailed along the floor, so did her two Guards in her wake. As she took her place in the table, she was shadowed by their great frames.
Following closely after Wen Ten, were Barrier-2 and his compatriot Commisar Vardan. They were flanked by two Crakador troopers, unflinching and enormous as they always were. The two of them made their way to their own little corner of the grand table. One of the crakadors swiftly shoved the chair aside to make room for Barrier's exosuit.
High Commissar Vardan, of the United Socialist Savarog Republics took his seat as per usual, not waiting for the tedious process of having the Crakador move it for him. Though a look of, disgust soon crept across his face as he realised the same grave error as before had been made. The chair was too damn small for his bulk, and barely looked able to support a human, let alone a Savarog. Sighing, he called over one of the Crakadors and whispered in a murderous tone, "Bring a chair, preferably one not designed for a small child." The Crakador left in a hasty fashion, returning moments latter with what had to have been the chair intended for the Commissar. The trooper saluted before standing guard once more, while the Commissar sat himself down for the current discussions.
The Commissar was clothed in his usual fashion, though instead of the normal Commissar robes he wore the other garment symbolic of his position: the Khokmar, a sign of a member of the Savarog diplomatic caste.
Advo, the 37th prime communicator-builder of the Abyssal Domain waddled in without any guards. No need for them, for Advo is completely convinced it would reincarnate if this turned into a massacre anyways. Advo silently moved to the table and pushed its chair aside. Advo than just stood there like a statue while holding a notepad.
From the other side of these chambers a small creature followed by a tree slowly pushed through the crowd. The smaller of the two took a seat that specifically stated "Inner Sphere Union Representative Qu." As Qu took his seat promptly and without much interaction. Perhaps it was brakko the tree that seemed to have the most emotion as he made it a point to say please and thank you, with the occasional "Hello." Or as close as a tree with a translating device could.
Followinging behind was the tall, stalky and extravagantly dressed Aldir Moti, Ambassador of the Ascendancy, flanking to his right was his human assistant. The two continued on ahead into the Council Chambers, Aldir taking his seat, with his assistant Natasha standing by his side. "My sincere apologies for my late arrival." Aldir said. "Shall we get on with business?"
Dimitry looked around the table, it was filled out pretty well. But with one seat glaringly unoccupied. The seat for the representative of Kurtiye. Regardless, Dimitry gestured his own guards at the door of the hall to seal the entrance, the sign that the council was now officially in session.
"You may have noticed that Kurtiye has not graced us with a representative today. I was informed not just one representative came, but several. All representing different factions within the divided empire. Of course it would be unbecoming to see them continue their squabbling in this meeting of high minds, so until such a time as when a definitive representative steps forward, I have elected to leave their chair empty. I hope you all see where I'm coming from."
"Now, to move on to matters that we have direct control of... I think we have a new face at this table." The king of sol directed his gaze to the stunning beauty of the most serene one. It took quite a bit of his restraint to keep his composure... How could a being have such beauty while remaining so dignified?"
Immediately, barrier-2 cleared his throat to interject. "Yes, this representative of the wo was... most unexpected. I have corresponded with her about a matter between my people and hers. And I do believe this concerns those of the union, the federation and the ascendancy as well." The qulseoc stared directly at Wen Ten. Unflinched by her supposed beauty.
Wen rose, and turned her brilliant eyes to Dimitry, bowing respectfully. "Thank you, King of Sol." She then directed her gaze upon everyone else. "Good tidings upon each of you and your wondrous nations. I am Wen Ten Xei, elected by my peers to be the Most Serene One, and repesentative of the Harmony of Wo. Let me speak on behalf of my people that this is a most auspicious and agreeable time for all of us, as we formally initiate ourselves into the greater galactic community. We Wo are a peaceful race who hold joy above all other things. As we are a new face in interstellar politics, we hope that you will treat us kindly."
Wen bowed again, before taking her seat. "I understand that there is a matter of gravitas concerning many of the nations represented in this council and my people specifically. It is a matter of import so it is best that we discuss it immediately: namely, the disappearances of your citizens who were brazen enough to trespass into Harmonic space."
"As the Harmony finds no benefit to be gained from deceit, let me be completely honest with you as I say," she paused dramatically, "that those citizens of yours are all dead, and the locations of their corpses are largely unknown to us." All throughout her speech, her expression was largely indifferent, save for the smallest of smiles tugging on the edges of her lips.
Barrier kept his unflinching stare locked on the wo ambassador, only raising a tentacle to the savarog next to him to signal he woud speak first. " So... you admit to the unlawful execution of possibly hundreds of peopme over the years... tell me, how do you intend to smooth this mattmattematter over? I think I speak for everyone when I say reparations are in order... at lealeasleast."
As experienced a diplomat as barrier was, even he could hardly hide the disgust he felt for how casual this wo ambassador seemed to regard the whole matter.
"There will be no reparations."
Her reply was immediate, and strong.
"Nothing unlawful has happened at all, though we do regret the loss of all these lives. Anyone trespassing Wo space is given ample time and warning to leave, and most are wise enough to heed them. The Harmony is also not bound to any treaty or law that defines justice across interstellar and international borders. For centuries the Harmony has made one thing clear to any who would approach us: our space is forbidden, and trespass will mean danger to your lives. Why ignore the warnings? There is no reason to."
She gave a small bow towards Barrier-2. "I hope that you understand."
"So the charge has altered from unlawful mass kidnapping, to instead mass slaughter of potential civillian target that have no means of defence? I would ask what makes the Wo space so, special, in that you see fit to slay the sentient members of other species merely for trespassing...surely some warning should be given, especially considering the Wo are a new faction at this table." Vardan's tone was, agitated, the lack of ample furniture mixed with general lack of care for the xenos had left him rather frustrated. Though an air of composure was maintained, for a Savarog.
"I see no reason why the Wo have either imposed such, lethal, boundaries or why your people seek to kill off travellers in the area. I do believe I speak for I, and the Qulseoc ambassador when I say that any of our species that travel remotely near your lands, are entirely peaceful. It would seem as if you are, hiding something. Maybe a force should well be sent to ensure...peace..." The Savarog's face shifted from slight annoyance to an almost, smugness at the last set of words, even if the cvillians mattered little this could well be used to gain further traction against hostile alien races.
"The Harmony is a sovereign nation, with all the rights and privileges that entails," Wen said, facing Vardan. "This includes the right to deal with those who would trespass into our territory as we see fit, given how until now we were never formally initiated into the greater galactic community and, as I have said before, unbound by any international treaty pertaining such matters. Let me assure you that the unfortunate incidents involving the deaths of your citizens are quite tiny compared to those who were wise enough to heed our warnings and leave. Our defense system gives ample time for the crew of any ship to make the right decision, and never becomes hostile until it is clear that the ship in question has no intention of listening."
"You have mapped the outline of our region of space well enough," Wen added, "and it has always been clear that Harmonic space is forbidden and dangerous to travelers. While the entire affair is unfortunate, I'm afraid I must say that the only fault here lies within those who were foolish enough to try and penetrate deeply into this border. With that being said, the Harmony is willing to shrink its defensive perimeter in certain areas to better facilitate interstellar travel and communications for the benefit of all those involved."
Qu threw his arms up at that point before calling attention to himself, "Oh.. OH ofcourse we blame people who had nothing to do with it. Why not just announce yourselves decades ago and turn people away? why make it such an intriguing mystery and then have the audacity to just brush it off... We send rescuers and they disappear.. Just two days ago one of our rescue ships chasing the potential crew of a crashed science ship.. the "Wo wreck." as they call it.." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I want those people back.. all of them. I demand it. Now that you've announced yourself as an entitity, I demand your compliance!"
His obvious frustration was somewhat mitigated by his lack of an intimidating figure. Regardless, it was quite obvious that his outburst was reflecting the thoughts of many in not only the room but indeed the majority of the civilized galaxy.. more or less.
Ambassador Moti stood up as he prepared to interjected onto the "discussion", more like a trial. "Now, now, my fellows." Aldir spoke up. "There is a time and a place for such a topic, but this is a meeting of diplmoatic and political importance, not a trial." He paused and continued. "I understand such worry for your citizens, but Immediate threats of violence will only aggravate and increase tentsions." He took a deep breath. "The Wo were but mere myth to my people, and to see them in the flesh, for lack of a better word, is quite a discovery." He sat down once more, but continued, scanning the room, his eyes meeting other delegations briefly. "And although the Wo myths were less then positive. I'm sure if we can come to understanding one another, and one day, the Wo as well as all of you may one day see....the Light." The inner Missionary was peering right out of Aldir, almost attempting to convert, but of course dressed it up to be more subtle, although his speech pattern may more or less be noticed.
Wen gave Moti a small bow. "Thank you, Ambassador. While I understand that our defensive policies are rather extreme from your perspective, please understand that we hold our lands dearly. Not a single alien race has even seen one of our worlds, and most of us would rather keep it that way. In fact, the decision for our newly elected head of state to send me here is an incredibly controversial topic back home. The Most Harmonious One, however, has seen fit that it is time for my people to finally make formal contact with the wider galaxy. My people are... hoping that my coming here will ultimately not be viewed with regret later on."
She turned to Qu. "I am afraid that is going to be difficult. As I said, we do not know the locations of your citizens' spacecraft. The breadth of space will also make any search effort almost unfeasable."
Wen bowed. "I hope you will understand."
"Barrier had listened to the litany of the union's ambassador... It would appear the union was behind him... this quite strengthened his position. He had been careful up until now as to not turn the council against him. That concern was mostly moot now though.
"Delegate Wen Ten... you keep repeating that you were not bound by any treaty to put a stop to your barbaric way of guarding your borders... Perhaps you do not understand that this council has legislation for dealing with rogue non-member nations as well? We are perfectly in our right to visit consequences on your people whether you agree to these consequences or not. This is no longer a question of if you can be considered guilty as charged... It is now a question of what the consequences will be."
Barrier cocked his head to the side ever so slightly, his face twisted into what you could call the smug smile of someone who just won an argument. "From the gathered grievances of my fellow representatives , I think I can compile a concise list of demands."
"Firstly, you will immediately cease this monstrous method of border patrol and bring it in line with standard council procedures... I suspect this will make for quite the transition for your navy, but I trust you'll manage."
"Secondly, you will give us assistance to the best of your ability to recover and repatriate the remains of all those that were killed in your territorrial space over the years."
"thirdly, you will take full responsibility for the death and destruction wrought by your negligence. There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people that would like closure for beloved friends and family... This would seem like the most efficient way to do so."
The qulseoc took a deep breath, subtly, such that it was barely noticeable. " You may argue semantics all evening, miss Wen... but you cannot evade justice... Your people have evaded it for long enough."
Wen closed her eyes, and breathed deeply - even though her body never required respiration. When she opened them, her reply was resolute, "The Harmony will try to return the bodies of your citizens to their respective nations. That is all I can promise you. As for your demanded change of our defense policy, I shall take it up with our head of state and government. And as for justice," Wen paused, "there is no crime. The only negligence here," she was adamant, "is that of your citizens, for trespassing into a clearly restricted area and ignoring countless warnings to rush into their obvious deaths."
Barrier sighed in defeat. He gestured a tentacle and one of the savarog bodyguards answered. "Get me a secure line... I want barracuda and his staff on holo-conference by the time this meeting ends... If they will not listen to reason... they will have to be subdued with force. Wouldn't you agree, Vardan
He made a final closing statement. "Your race isn't the center of the universe, miss Wen... You will regret this arrogance.
Wen Ten Xei shook her head. Perhaps the Captain, who stood by her to the left, and his simple views regarding the barbarians were more apt than hers. "I do not see the point of escalating the issue to this point. The Harmony is a sovereign nation with the right to self-defense."
Barrier's Patience had fnally run out now. "That does not make you judge, jury and executioner you mental defective!" The qulseoc flared up red in anger... He quickly regained his composure, but he had already said the worst insult he could think of... at least from a qulseoc's point of view.
"Ambassador, your current behavior is not befitting for someone of your rank and station." Wen's smile had all but gone away at this point.
Qu had never rolled his eyes so hard in his life, "So Wen are you going to understand the reality of things?" He said with a snarky tone. His words were serious afterwards as anger seemed to flow again, "Look, all this diverting left and right is pointless. You make comments about respecting borders and restricted space... How do you honor borders and adhere to "restricted space" when there's no one there to enforce it? No one to actively declare 'hey we are here!' . " he shook his head in near disbelief, "This is just pure ignorance. I fully support the Qulseoc declaration of sanctions."
Dimitry cleared his throat and exclaimed. "Order! Order!". His voice carried a tone of calm forcefulness. "It would appear a round of voting is in order. Most of you know the regulations surrounding this procedure, but I will reiterate them in the interest of full disclosure to our newest councillor. All councillors get a vote on the resolution of this matter... From what I can see, the current vote for sanctions against the wo is two in favor and one against... I declare the kingdom of sol hereby abstains from voting. This matter does not concern my people one way or the other, and it would be reasonable to assume the representative of Kurtiye would vote the same were they present at this table." The king of sol looked over the other councillors. "Now... pick a side or remain in silence evermore."
Vardan was enitrely resolute throughout the proposed sanctioning of the Wo peoples. Gathered from the reaction of his equal, Barrier-2, and off of his own opinion, he cast forth his vote. "I vote for the setting in place of sanctions against the Wo, untill a time where in they better conduct themselves to the laid out standard of law." Having said that, he scanned the Wo diplomat's face for signs of irritation, it would please Vardan most highly to see some sort of anger out of the thus far calm woman.
Aldir had remained silent, abstaining his vote on the subject. This particular crisis had no effect on the Ascendancy, and would not matter, however, this possible conflict had one upside, the Qulseoc were angered with the Wo's actions, they along with their Savarog puppets, would pour untold resources to enact justice, all the while the Asecendacy is left to it's own machinations as their ideological foes focus elsewhere.
Dimitry waited a few more moments... It seemed everyone present had cast their vote. Three for, and one against... The emperor of sol called a scribe to attention. The council had made an official decision. He dictated, "By the power of the council, I hereby declare the demands that barrier-2 of the qulseoc made to be backed by the council. We command the wo to reform the policies by which they guard their borders, We demand they give us assistance as needed to recover the lost ships and people... And finally, we demand official apology and reperations for this matter, the exact nature of which will be determined at a later date. This council is final and beyond appeal in this decision."
Barrier was pleased to see that none of the other councilors really supported the Wo's stance in this whole matter. Of course Vardan voted the same as he did. He couldn't really think of any time when the savarog had ever defied him. "Thank you, Emperor... I will contact the qulseoc office of statistics concerning the reparations, they will give us their mathematical take on the matter as soon as possible" The qulseoc glanced at the wo one last time. "Now... seeing as we have adressed the Wo's entrance on to the galactic stage... I do believe there is also another crisis that needs adressing?"
"Yes Barrier" Dimitry responded, "But seeing as we currently have no representative of kurtiye present, I see fit to adjourn the matter till such a time as where one can be present, in the interest of not making this council appear despotic towards the people there." He gestured over an archivist. "For now, let's work through the backlog"
The backlog, a big collection of issues that nominally concerned the council but were often shoved aside. Its appearance on the table signified the important matters were at an end for the day and some minor issues were needed to fill the rest of the meeting time."