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923 - Delegation II
🕑 Added 2025-06-06 21:15:37 +0000 UTC“We came here with the promise of war should the explanation you provide to us be considered underwhelming, and you deny our compensation demands should we deem you to be the culprit behind the situation,” Kumakar said, maintaining eye contact with the Emperor, seemingly observing his reaction.
To his surprise, the Emperor only raised an eyebrow briefly before returning to a neutral expression. He said nothing and simply waited for Kumakar to continue, which made Kumakar wonder whether this was just how the Emperor behaved or if he was silently surprised about being discovered and was waiting to hear how much had been uncovered before deciding how to respond.
Kumakar had already formed his conclusion, and anything the Emperor did during the meeting would only serve as confirmation of his beliefs. Still, he continued with what he had come to say. “Your side has breached the agreement of non-hostility and cooperation with Conclave civilizations by attacking and destroying my civilization’s fleet and killing everyone in it. We are here for an explanation of why you did that and to demand compensation for your actions against us.” He struck the table as he mentioned the death of his soldiers, openly displaying his emotions despite the expectations for someone in his position to remain composed.
“I have no recollection of me ordering or our fleets doing anything similar to that. What led you to that conclusion?” the Emperor, Aron, finally responded after a short pause, looking directly at Kumakar.
Kumakar didn’t respond. Instead, one of the delegates, who had been sweating profusely due to Kumakar’s behavior and tone toward the Emperor, placed a hologram device on the table. It began playing footage of the fleet’s destruction from the perspective of the attacked fleet.
The empire’s side watched the evidence carefully, reviewing each part before they quickly understood the accusation being made against them.
Aron, who was observing the footage, briefly turned his head toward the delegation before returning his focus to the footage. Once it was finished, he finally responded. “It seems you are accusing us of destroying your fleet when all we did was destroy ships that met the criteria to be considered hostile.”
BAM! “So you're saying my soldiers were pirates?” Kumakar asked, slamming the table. Veins appeared visibly on his skin an unusual for his kind, whose skin typically made such signs difficult to see, showing the extent of his emotional state.
“I understand that from your perspective, it looks like an attack on your forces. But from our side, they were classified as pirates. So I’ll say this once: show respect during this meeting. I am not, and neither are my representatives, here to be treated like subordinates,” Aron said in a calm voice. As he spoke, his eyes briefly shifted to gold before returning to normal.
“What? How dar—” Kumakar began, but another delegate quickly interrupted him.
“I apologize for his conduct. Please understand that he has just lost an entire fleet and everyone in it, without warning, after sending them to respond to the wormhole attack, only to find themselves attacked by those they considered allies.”
“It doesn’t matter what his situation is. A leader must maintain a semblance of rationality when speaking to another. If he can’t, then a representative should speak on his behalf. And as for the ships we destroyed, they were pirates. All the evidence pointed to that conclusion,” Aron said.
As he spoke, the room’s lights dimmed and the surroundings shifted. The delegation, tense and on edge after Kumakar’s earlier behavior, instinctively braced themselves, half-expecting a retaliation. But instead, they found themselves within a detailed recording from one of the imperial fleet's command ships.
The recording began by showing the approach of the unidentified fleet. The first point shown was that the ships had the same transponder codes as those used by the pirates who attacked the wormhole of the Bilakis civilization. However, the Empire had not based its decision solely on this.
One of the data holograms displayed how the fleet had been visually scanned. The image revealed worn-down ships in poor condition, with mismatched designs that bore no resemblance to an organized military fleet. They looked more like a collection of scavenged vessels, exactly the kind used by pirate groups.
Additionally, the Empire had attempted to contact the fleet through the agreed-upon diplomatic channels to confirm whether they belonged to any recognized ally. Only after receiving no response and confirming the other evidence did they engage.
“So,” Aron said as he leaned forward, his fingers interlocked on the table, “what part of the evidence we’ve shown suggests that the fleet belonged to an official civilization? And how do you explain the transponder code matching those used by the pirates?”
Kumakar narrowed his eyes. “Are you accusing us of being the pirates?”
Aron didn’t flinch. “Why did the pirates who attacked the wormhole have your civilization’s transponder codes? Is your so-called unique transponder system so basic that pirates can easily replicate it? Or is your civilization’s internal security so weak that entire military ships were stolen without anyone noticing, then used in a pirate raid?”
He didn’t stop.
“And why did this fleet, which you claim is a flagship force, look so disorganized and in such poor condition? Why didn’t they respond using the proper diplomatic channels when we reached out for confirmation? Why did your security forces pull out of the wormhole sector a full month before the attack?”
As he asked these questions, a hologram appeared listing the questions and the evidence backing and led to Aron raising those questions
“And why did every crew member pass our information scans using your own civilization’s personnel clearance system? These people were marked as trusted individuals cleared to transport volatile cargo. Are you telling me your detection systems are so weak that such a large pirate operation, one capable of seizing official clearances and strategic locations, went completely unnoticed?”
Each time he asked a new question, another data projection appeared behind him, highlighting the point and preventing any attempt to deflect or skip over the issue.
Aron’s voice remained level, but every question carved deeper into Kumakar’s claims, laying bare the contradictions and casting doubt on the entire narrative.
Comments
SomeNotTakenName
"How do you so much 'evidence' at the ready so fast? You must have planned for a contingency! " "Perhaps you haven't noticed, but The Terran Empire is Byzantine bureaucracy. Every document, including these recordings, were checked by 5 officers of my court and their findings were then each check and catalogued by no less than 3 different officers each. Nothing goes unnoted and uncatalogued. And this is even before the Department of Redundancy Department gets involved. "
Sol_Invictus(Hail the Terran Empire)
Phew, I was as tense as a harp string. That was absolutely amazing. I'm honestly looking forward to what's next. If it weren’t for the SP and the current lack of readiness for a guaranteed victory, we could’ve already dropped the facade. And now it’s clear why that leader is so eager — turns out he doesn’t even know about the black hole bombs. The guy has no idea that his behavior is actually increasing the chances of his own race's annihilation, haha.
