Exhack
Inactive Member
Alweid was one of Maekardan's major cities built only a few centuries before, during the people's short-lived biotechnological renaissance, representing sheer excess in design and splendor of an era gone but not entirely forgotten. Gleaming spires and skyscrapers of white pierced the gaps between massive spheroid arcology-style structures, like pearlescent lances cutting into the clear blue sky. Hover vehicles and trams controlled by NI units swam through the air, bringing the citizens of the busy cities between these brilliant clusters of life and culture.
The meeting place was neither an official government building nor a slum where the underbelly of society congregated, but the private home of an official, high in one of the major spires. The high-ceilinged room where the guests were received was lit up by bioluminescent nodules that adorned the walls and ceiling, their dull glow overwhelmed even more by the brightness of the world's white sun, which could be seen through the curvy and almost implausibly high bioplas windows. Art of all styles and media adorned the walls, yet these too seemed to be merely tiny points of light against the prevailing white of the walls and brown of the synthwood flooring.
The Prince made a rather futile attempt to straighten his coat and brush off a minor coolant stain on his flight suit before steping across the threshold into the foyer. Although he was slightly on edge due to recent events, he hoped that his physical gestures and flight helmet would not reveal this to the present company. He decided to take a look around the room at the various pieces of decor before the host arrived.
"Welcome, Prince Hassan." A woman's voice called out from overhead, followed shortly by the faint creak and stomp of descending footsteps.
The Coordinator Paz Nazar was neither the highest nor lowest ranked member of the Vanguard Oversight Comittee, a society that existed within the circles of the Commonwealth's armed forces for the purposes of information control and oversight, but she commanded enough authority to be the one to represent the intelligence community on such a sensitive issue. She was a woman well past her eighties and just nearing the middle of her middle age, trim and well-kept but starting to show thr signs of age and stress from years of late nights and investigations. Thin lines formed near the corners of a pert mouth and around the edges of her green eyes, while the skin of her face had begun to show faint discoloration around the cheeks.
Dressed modestly in traditional dress and shawl and carrying a large teapot filled with a fragrant and steaming liquid, she approached the Freespacer curiously as if he genuinely was her first alien encounter. A small smile formed in the corner of her mouth and the gestured to a pile of rugged-looking pillows strewn in one of the corners of the room, near the large-paned windows. "Take a seat. We'll discuss what our organization can do for you in these troubling times."
"Troubling, yes, I suppose that's one term for the threat of a second genocide." The Prince turned to meet her gaze, his hands clasped in front of him. "I don't expect you to believe me, of course, since I have a vested interest in propogating my political ideology, but it seems Yui is determined to burn the galaxy around her."
"I was merely understating the situation." Paz stepped over to the seating herself and tucking her legs to the side, setting the kettle and cups onto the carpetted patch of floor. The Coordinator sat silently for a moment, before looking up at the helmeted 'Spacer. "No, we're well aware of what might happen if the situaton is allowed to worsen."
"So what are you going to do for me?" The Prince took a seat opposite to Paz, although it wasn't particularly comfortable due to the cooling vest he still wore. "I think it would not be presumptious to think you're going to either help me or turn me over to Yamatai, otherwise you would not run the risk of being seen with me."
"Yamatai doesn't quite have their reach this far in space yet." The Coordinator poured herself a cup of coffee, followed by another for the Prince as a courtesy, and took a quiet sip. "We have no extradition and no intent to prostrate ourselves to them. Unless you decided to spice up our dossiers on you with a few murders, you'll be treated with courtesy while you remain in the Commonwealth."
"These offices are insulated, the windows polarized... and you might notice the faint ring of multiple white noise generators gleefully masking out conversation to remote observation." Paz almost grinned, pushing the cup slightly towards him before returning to nursing her drink. "I digress again, though. I've invited you here to take note of the situation your people face, and explain to you the likely response the Commonwealth will take."
"So please, explain a little."
The Prince felt a little more at ease knowning that such measures were in place. He had, after all, come unarmed but would rather not commit suicide as being restored from a backup was always such a bother. He mused about this for a moment before he replied.
"You probably heard most of it. Yamatai commited genocide on my peoples. They've subjugated and strong-armed plenty before us. Of course, you probably heard on the public nets that Yamatai threatened war against my pacifists breathren -- and as you can probably guess, war against pacifists basically equates to genocide." The Prince's voice crackled through his helmet speaker, and for the first time a trace of malice could be heard in his voice. "Did I mention that the genocide remains unprosecuted because -- and get this -- genocide is not considered a crime by Yamataian law. Not kidding there."
Paz blinked for a moment and nearly did a spit-take, although she merely nearly choked on her drink, and simply stood in awe of the statement for a moment. She had known about the Genocide for some time now off-hand, but the thought that a society condoned such actions so readily was a frightening thought, especially one that was both belligerent and hostile to a nation that they were harboring.
"I see. Then we deal with this sort of society." She nodded and set her cup down. "According to our doctrines, laws are national statements of morality. Is this merely the command structure of their society, or something that has been allowed to continue without opposition from the populace?"
"I would imagine it was a case of indoctrination." The Prince leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, thinking deeply about the question. "Nekos and Yamataians, on an individual basis, don't not exhibit a particularly belligerent nature. It is our conclusion that this aggressiveness as a nation must then come from its leadership, in particular the royal family of which the Yui-genocide is part of."
"As you said yourself, you are trying to further your own political ideology, but it seems the rhetoric is merely a side-dish to the evidence." Paz tapped her temple and nodded intently. "You play a dangerous game, Hassan, and you invite our people to join it. But the stakes seem terribly high... with our race facing extinction by eventual conquest by the Empire or sudden assault for acting against them in prevention."
"Tell me, do you think this is a battle that can be won?"
The Prince sat up eagerly and leaned forward towards Paz. In a quieter tone he said, "Not only won, but won without a prolonged campaign. Certain elements of the military-aristocracy are highly belligerent, and would eagerly see Yamatai thrown into a war to wipe us out, irregardless of collateral damage. Should they win over the dissenting voices, they will pull many nearby nations into a war against them, and when coupled with the assault of the NMX, they will inevitably fall."
"Of course," the Prince continued, "Should the more moderate members of government win we can do this the old fashioned way. Even if the government should prove moderate, the military leadership will not -- after all it is headed by the Yui-genocide. The military will inevitably cause more and more collateral damage until a breaking point is reached and others join war to stop them."
"Mmm. I hope your assessment is correct, then." Paz steepled her fingers as she listened intently. The situation was one that would likely be incredibly difficult, even if Hassan was correct and it were possible for a military victory in the long term. They couldn't exactly reveal themselves suddenly as allies of the IWL, as they had neither the resources nor the will to wage another war while the Vanguard was busy with the reconquista of the rogue diaspora nations.
The Coordinator was thankfully not responsible for anything other than giving a fair assement of the official response that would likely come along, along with whatever aid would be provided in secret. "But I think that I might have an idea of what might happen now that you've explained everything. I only have a last question before I'll be able to render you a conclusive assessment."
"Elaborate." The Prince said, rather simply.
"What exactly did you do to these people that they'd be willing to commit genocide twice?" Paz looked a little exasperated for a moment as she asked. "What data you've given us simply doesn't match up to the responses."
"This part sounds particularly absurd but, an encoded tranmission from a splitner group was intercepted declairing their intent to go to war with Yamatai. This is not unreasonable in itself, but," The Prince hesitated for a moment, weighing his words, "their explaination for the war was not. They claim they ushered in genocide because they believed we were a 'hive-mind' race despite all evidence to the contrary."
"Had even a single agent accessed our publically-available, unencoded networks, they would have seen this plain as day. I, among others, find it hard to believe they could intercept a remote encoded transmission but are incapable of accessing public networks," the Prince concluded.
"Ah." Paz again, sat in awe and took a moment to process the information being given to her. "That is perhaps the single most atrocious failure in military intelligence I have ever heard off. I would personally claim malice merely to preserve the respectability of my intelligence apparatus and command staff, or cull the ones responsible for the error in judgement to regain it."
She blinked. "But they've done neither?"
"Neg." The Prince nodded, and let out a small sigh. "Naturally, it stinks of nepotism given that the perpetrator of the genocide is a royal family member. Not entirely unexpected. Can you grasp the reason for our animosity now?"
"Yes, of course. These are the sorts of atrocities that our people allowed to fade into history, and yet you've been given no vindication." The Coordinator gave a wary nod. "It's entirely understandable."
The Prince rubbed his forehead, or at least a similar location on his helmet. "I don't need pity, I need charity. Armaments and troops and ships. Can you help or no?"
"It's a difficult situation. We can't put ourselves at risk, but inaction may be just as dangerous." Paz brought her steeped fingers up to her mouth, looked at the Freespacer again and gave a small sigh. "Officially, we might at best be able to offer asylum to deserting IWL members. Provided you're willing to accept protocols to disguise your approach."
"Yet many of our people have joined your movement, which may be damning enough. Protecting their interests and assisting you however we can is our highest priority, and I believe we can come to some sort of amenable agreement." The Coordinator almost grinned again, allowing a touch of giddiness to slip up through the years of conditionning and self-control. "We'll arrange for facilities and transports to be sparsely defended. Shipments of weapons, vehicles, supplies you can put to use for protracted campaigns."
"Yes. The unnofficial response, handed down directly from the highest bodies of authority in our nation, will likely be to supply you with arms in a manner that does not tie us directly to you. Provided you do not kill the guards attending the prepared facilities and avoid using these weapons against us, or in a manner that would make you insupportable."
"Naturally. We'll take whatever we are offered, although we are currently in need of starships and small arms for raid ops. Send target information to this data dropbox." The Prince offered her a small datacube. "Are there any conditions of use besides the blatantly obvious don't-kill-your-people or don't-lead-Yamatai-to-you caveats?"
"I wish I could say. Governments change their minds as circumstances allow." Paz shook her head and took the datacube in hand, giving it a quick glance. "But for now, I think we've concluded this meeting."
"You'll have what you need, Prince Hassan of the Wired Rovers."
END
The meeting place was neither an official government building nor a slum where the underbelly of society congregated, but the private home of an official, high in one of the major spires. The high-ceilinged room where the guests were received was lit up by bioluminescent nodules that adorned the walls and ceiling, their dull glow overwhelmed even more by the brightness of the world's white sun, which could be seen through the curvy and almost implausibly high bioplas windows. Art of all styles and media adorned the walls, yet these too seemed to be merely tiny points of light against the prevailing white of the walls and brown of the synthwood flooring.
The Prince made a rather futile attempt to straighten his coat and brush off a minor coolant stain on his flight suit before steping across the threshold into the foyer. Although he was slightly on edge due to recent events, he hoped that his physical gestures and flight helmet would not reveal this to the present company. He decided to take a look around the room at the various pieces of decor before the host arrived.
"Welcome, Prince Hassan." A woman's voice called out from overhead, followed shortly by the faint creak and stomp of descending footsteps.
The Coordinator Paz Nazar was neither the highest nor lowest ranked member of the Vanguard Oversight Comittee, a society that existed within the circles of the Commonwealth's armed forces for the purposes of information control and oversight, but she commanded enough authority to be the one to represent the intelligence community on such a sensitive issue. She was a woman well past her eighties and just nearing the middle of her middle age, trim and well-kept but starting to show thr signs of age and stress from years of late nights and investigations. Thin lines formed near the corners of a pert mouth and around the edges of her green eyes, while the skin of her face had begun to show faint discoloration around the cheeks.
Dressed modestly in traditional dress and shawl and carrying a large teapot filled with a fragrant and steaming liquid, she approached the Freespacer curiously as if he genuinely was her first alien encounter. A small smile formed in the corner of her mouth and the gestured to a pile of rugged-looking pillows strewn in one of the corners of the room, near the large-paned windows. "Take a seat. We'll discuss what our organization can do for you in these troubling times."
"Troubling, yes, I suppose that's one term for the threat of a second genocide." The Prince turned to meet her gaze, his hands clasped in front of him. "I don't expect you to believe me, of course, since I have a vested interest in propogating my political ideology, but it seems Yui is determined to burn the galaxy around her."
"I was merely understating the situation." Paz stepped over to the seating herself and tucking her legs to the side, setting the kettle and cups onto the carpetted patch of floor. The Coordinator sat silently for a moment, before looking up at the helmeted 'Spacer. "No, we're well aware of what might happen if the situaton is allowed to worsen."
"So what are you going to do for me?" The Prince took a seat opposite to Paz, although it wasn't particularly comfortable due to the cooling vest he still wore. "I think it would not be presumptious to think you're going to either help me or turn me over to Yamatai, otherwise you would not run the risk of being seen with me."
"Yamatai doesn't quite have their reach this far in space yet." The Coordinator poured herself a cup of coffee, followed by another for the Prince as a courtesy, and took a quiet sip. "We have no extradition and no intent to prostrate ourselves to them. Unless you decided to spice up our dossiers on you with a few murders, you'll be treated with courtesy while you remain in the Commonwealth."
"These offices are insulated, the windows polarized... and you might notice the faint ring of multiple white noise generators gleefully masking out conversation to remote observation." Paz almost grinned, pushing the cup slightly towards him before returning to nursing her drink. "I digress again, though. I've invited you here to take note of the situation your people face, and explain to you the likely response the Commonwealth will take."
"So please, explain a little."
The Prince felt a little more at ease knowning that such measures were in place. He had, after all, come unarmed but would rather not commit suicide as being restored from a backup was always such a bother. He mused about this for a moment before he replied.
"You probably heard most of it. Yamatai commited genocide on my peoples. They've subjugated and strong-armed plenty before us. Of course, you probably heard on the public nets that Yamatai threatened war against my pacifists breathren -- and as you can probably guess, war against pacifists basically equates to genocide." The Prince's voice crackled through his helmet speaker, and for the first time a trace of malice could be heard in his voice. "Did I mention that the genocide remains unprosecuted because -- and get this -- genocide is not considered a crime by Yamataian law. Not kidding there."
Paz blinked for a moment and nearly did a spit-take, although she merely nearly choked on her drink, and simply stood in awe of the statement for a moment. She had known about the Genocide for some time now off-hand, but the thought that a society condoned such actions so readily was a frightening thought, especially one that was both belligerent and hostile to a nation that they were harboring.
"I see. Then we deal with this sort of society." She nodded and set her cup down. "According to our doctrines, laws are national statements of morality. Is this merely the command structure of their society, or something that has been allowed to continue without opposition from the populace?"
"I would imagine it was a case of indoctrination." The Prince leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, thinking deeply about the question. "Nekos and Yamataians, on an individual basis, don't not exhibit a particularly belligerent nature. It is our conclusion that this aggressiveness as a nation must then come from its leadership, in particular the royal family of which the Yui-genocide is part of."
"As you said yourself, you are trying to further your own political ideology, but it seems the rhetoric is merely a side-dish to the evidence." Paz tapped her temple and nodded intently. "You play a dangerous game, Hassan, and you invite our people to join it. But the stakes seem terribly high... with our race facing extinction by eventual conquest by the Empire or sudden assault for acting against them in prevention."
"Tell me, do you think this is a battle that can be won?"
The Prince sat up eagerly and leaned forward towards Paz. In a quieter tone he said, "Not only won, but won without a prolonged campaign. Certain elements of the military-aristocracy are highly belligerent, and would eagerly see Yamatai thrown into a war to wipe us out, irregardless of collateral damage. Should they win over the dissenting voices, they will pull many nearby nations into a war against them, and when coupled with the assault of the NMX, they will inevitably fall."
"Of course," the Prince continued, "Should the more moderate members of government win we can do this the old fashioned way. Even if the government should prove moderate, the military leadership will not -- after all it is headed by the Yui-genocide. The military will inevitably cause more and more collateral damage until a breaking point is reached and others join war to stop them."
"Mmm. I hope your assessment is correct, then." Paz steepled her fingers as she listened intently. The situation was one that would likely be incredibly difficult, even if Hassan was correct and it were possible for a military victory in the long term. They couldn't exactly reveal themselves suddenly as allies of the IWL, as they had neither the resources nor the will to wage another war while the Vanguard was busy with the reconquista of the rogue diaspora nations.
The Coordinator was thankfully not responsible for anything other than giving a fair assement of the official response that would likely come along, along with whatever aid would be provided in secret. "But I think that I might have an idea of what might happen now that you've explained everything. I only have a last question before I'll be able to render you a conclusive assessment."
"Elaborate." The Prince said, rather simply.
"What exactly did you do to these people that they'd be willing to commit genocide twice?" Paz looked a little exasperated for a moment as she asked. "What data you've given us simply doesn't match up to the responses."
"This part sounds particularly absurd but, an encoded tranmission from a splitner group was intercepted declairing their intent to go to war with Yamatai. This is not unreasonable in itself, but," The Prince hesitated for a moment, weighing his words, "their explaination for the war was not. They claim they ushered in genocide because they believed we were a 'hive-mind' race despite all evidence to the contrary."
"Had even a single agent accessed our publically-available, unencoded networks, they would have seen this plain as day. I, among others, find it hard to believe they could intercept a remote encoded transmission but are incapable of accessing public networks," the Prince concluded.
"Ah." Paz again, sat in awe and took a moment to process the information being given to her. "That is perhaps the single most atrocious failure in military intelligence I have ever heard off. I would personally claim malice merely to preserve the respectability of my intelligence apparatus and command staff, or cull the ones responsible for the error in judgement to regain it."
She blinked. "But they've done neither?"
"Neg." The Prince nodded, and let out a small sigh. "Naturally, it stinks of nepotism given that the perpetrator of the genocide is a royal family member. Not entirely unexpected. Can you grasp the reason for our animosity now?"
"Yes, of course. These are the sorts of atrocities that our people allowed to fade into history, and yet you've been given no vindication." The Coordinator gave a wary nod. "It's entirely understandable."
The Prince rubbed his forehead, or at least a similar location on his helmet. "I don't need pity, I need charity. Armaments and troops and ships. Can you help or no?"
"It's a difficult situation. We can't put ourselves at risk, but inaction may be just as dangerous." Paz brought her steeped fingers up to her mouth, looked at the Freespacer again and gave a small sigh. "Officially, we might at best be able to offer asylum to deserting IWL members. Provided you're willing to accept protocols to disguise your approach."
"Yet many of our people have joined your movement, which may be damning enough. Protecting their interests and assisting you however we can is our highest priority, and I believe we can come to some sort of amenable agreement." The Coordinator almost grinned again, allowing a touch of giddiness to slip up through the years of conditionning and self-control. "We'll arrange for facilities and transports to be sparsely defended. Shipments of weapons, vehicles, supplies you can put to use for protracted campaigns."
"Yes. The unnofficial response, handed down directly from the highest bodies of authority in our nation, will likely be to supply you with arms in a manner that does not tie us directly to you. Provided you do not kill the guards attending the prepared facilities and avoid using these weapons against us, or in a manner that would make you insupportable."
"Naturally. We'll take whatever we are offered, although we are currently in need of starships and small arms for raid ops. Send target information to this data dropbox." The Prince offered her a small datacube. "Are there any conditions of use besides the blatantly obvious don't-kill-your-people or don't-lead-Yamatai-to-you caveats?"
"I wish I could say. Governments change their minds as circumstances allow." Paz shook her head and took the datacube in hand, giving it a quick glance. "But for now, I think we've concluded this meeting."
"You'll have what you need, Prince Hassan of the Wired Rovers."
END
