Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 14:41:38 GMT
There was a lot one could accomplish with an easy smile a nice laugh and a former career as a police officer. Sure it wasn't quite the same when it came to dealing with Restevian MPs, but a few pints, a few stories of weirdness on the beat and before long Nora had had a couple of MPs agreeing to fast track security clearance for the reporter.
And so, Nora had successfully cut through bureaucracy's best efforts to stop her and had an interview scheduled with one RSC bigwig or another to discuss just exactly what had happened in Ural between the RSC and the Dectrose.
Nora likely was partly expecting to be approached by a fireteam of heavily armed and geared Restevian Marines as she sat in the little café on Stratavask Avenue where she'd been asked to wait. She probably had been expecting to some extent to be ushered into a military vehicle, and to be driven towards one of the larger bases. But, she probably hadn't expected to be taken deep into the base to the command bunkers, and brought to a understated office within which waited a serious looking man in a understated uniform.
His service was worn proudly on his breast, and she'd likely seen this man's face on the news-- this was Admiral of the Fleet Oleg Tchaikovsky, commander of all Restevian forces in the galaxy. The marines take up guard positions to either side of the office, and the Admiral pointed Nora to a seat.
"Welcome, comrade." he said. "I heard you had some questions for me, about the recent mess in Ural."
"Mess is an understatement," Nora replied with a practiced calm. No matter how out of her element she may be she was quite skilled at always appearing in control.
"Dozens dead, a neutral ship destroyed by an allied power to make no mention of the stirrings in the international community... mess doesn't even begin to cover what happened at Ural."
She sat down, pulling a pad of paper and a pen from her pockets.
"So why don't we start with you explaining everything that transpired?"
"I'd appreciate it if you decided to ask something specific, but very well." the Admiral said evenly.
"A patrol stopped a Dectrose craft within the no-fly zone, and it was warned to depart the area. Twice. Once it did not and it was detected to be actively scanning the supernovae, it was boarded and the crew detained for intrusion pending a hearing and release. The Union of Worlds dispatched a light squadron to aid RSC efforts, and the boarding went off without issue until the Dectrose commander refused to surrender her crew and ship. For reasons we have not been able to fully ascertain, she terminated most of her crew. Following this, Annointed special forces of a sort opened fire and the Dectrose ship was destroyed by the Dectrose commander. That is all."
"I read the press release, Admiral" Nora said with a sigh and a faux pout. "I'm looking for things that weren't in the briefing. Why were they even there in yhe first place? Why did they refuse yo vacate the system? How was the nofly zone advertised? Why did they ignore it?"
She leaned back in her chair.
"I didn't come all this way for you to reguritate the press briefing."
There was a long pause, and Nora could hear one of the Marines mutter a heartfelt expletive at her directness. Then the Admiral took a deep breath.
"To be honest, comrade reporter, we do not know for sure why they were in the system. Perhaps they were attempting to scan the supernova for their own purposes, or perhaps they were there to challenge us." the Admiral said coolly. "We don't really know for sure, as their computer data was lost when the ship was destroyed. As for why they refused to vacate the system, that we also cannot know for sure. The prevailing theory is that they wished to finish their scanning, which considering how they were facing down a pair of cruisers at the time was brave of them."
Following this, Admiral Tchaikovsky steeple his fingers and stared right at her. "By the way, the attempted pouting is not working as you'd prefer. I will admit that we could have done better to make sure that the no-fly zone was known, but the fact remains that the no-fly zone was made public on the Ancerious net. Perhaps we could have made it clearer, but the fact remains that it was no secret. And once more, we do not know for sure why they chose to ignore the no-fly zone. Perhaps it was to facilitate their scanning. All these things, we will know, or at least have a better idea of, when the interviews of the surviving crew have ended."
"Sounds ominous," Nora commented jotting down some notes. "How much of the crew did actually survive and why did so many end up dead?"
"Thirty-nine crew survived, and are currently being interviewed and accommodated." Tchaikovsky said honestly. "Near as we can tell, those crew that were killed were terminated by the Dectrose commander using some kind of..." he waved his hand, searching for the right word. "Killswitch, is our best guess, targeted to Dectrose crew below a certain rank. Our medics attempted resuscitation, but it came to no fruition unfortunately.."
"I'll want an interview with the commanding officer obviously," Nora commented before looking up from her notepad. "Our sources indicate other allied fleets were present. Why did yhe RSC take unilateral action without any sort of conversation with those powers? Especially since they had more of a rapport with the Dectrose Empire than the RSC?"
"If the Union of Worlds has a rapport with the Dectrose Empire, the commander on site failed to notify our patrol of it." Tchaikovsky said flatly. "As for the Annointed, the patrol informed the Bedlam in Belgium of their purpose and actions, and the Annointed took no actions to stop them. As of now, the Annointed crew are in the process of being returned to their people."
"And the other foreign nationals aboard the vessel?" Nora pressed, rocking her chair back on to two legs and eyeing the Admiral.
"And how come the RSC didn't release a joint statement? And don't think I've forgotten about wanting to talk to the Dectrose CO."
“One question at a time." the Admiral said, waving a hand. "The Accordite citizens are being processed and treated for any injuries they might have sustained, and then they will be returned home. The others all species will be accommodated until an agreement can be reached with the Dectrose. If such an agreement cannot be reached, they will be processed as POWs and treated fairly as per our codes of conduct until the war is over."
"You are still at war with the Accord." Nora pointed out without missing a beat. "The Accord are APP members and yet you rease the soldiers of an APP member nation and continue to hold soldiers belonging to a neutral power. What's the justification behind that?"
"I suppose this wouldn't stay a secret forever..." Tchaikovsky sighed. "RSC is in a NAP with the Accord. They are not our enemies at this time."
"And yet they have citizens liasing with a vessel declared hostile. Seems to me they may well have broken their pact. Why discriminate against the Dectrose? Why release the Anointed for that matter? Seems to me they're playing both sides of the conflict here."
"The Dectrose intruded on RSC space in a Dectrose vessel. We are holding them until we can confirm with the Dectrose either a cessation of intrusions or open hostility. Suffice to say, the situation is in flux, and the Annointed are not being discounted in this. Next subject."
"So let me get this straight: The Dectrose show up with both Anointed and Accordite personnel in addition to their own and after arresting everyone you release personnel of your allies, you release personnel from an ally of several enemies you are currently at war with, but you detain personnel from a neutral nation. Not only that, you detain personnel from a neutral nation that is allied with one of your allies and shares close relations with a second one of your allies," Nora snorted and scribbled notes. "That's a clear sign of discrimination Admiral. How do you expect to claim the moral high ground when you're showcasing such blatant display of discrimination?"
“Next subject, please." Tchakovsky said flatly, his expression and voice still calm. If she was trying to provoke anger, or a slipup, it wasn't working as she intended. "I just said what will happen to the Dectrose. Beyond that is classified. So. Next subject."
"So then you have no problem being described as a discriminatory bigot?" Nora pressed.
"I have every problem with it." came the response, still calm and collected. "However, the fact remains that until the standing of the RSC and Dectrose is determined it would be unwise to release their crew. Understand it from our perspective. We have allowed the Dectrose crew their calls home, what if in those calls were orders to slaughter every Restevian civilian between detention facility and the spaceport? We do not fear that from the Annointed, because very, very seldom in our history has their been a force that rescued billions of our people only to turn on us shortly after. We do not fear the Accord, because while we are not allies, neither are we open enemies. In addition to that, the Accord are honorable, and have not reneged on any deal struck with them since contact was made. We doubt they will attack us for returning their citizens."
Tchaikovsky narrowed his eyes slightly.
"And if it would reassure you and your editors to know, nobody has been released yet. Not a one, as interviews are still ongoing."
"So its favoritism," Nora commented. "That's not necessarily better. But I won't tell you how to make foreign policy. Just don't be surprised when your decision making fails to play well with the public. Now, when can I see their commanding officer?"
"Comrade." Tchakovsky said suddenly. He was still calm, but his tone had become hard. "I would respectfully as that you respect my capacity to make the hard decisions it takes t lead the RSC in Ancerious, but I will ask you this. Would you rather that we hold all of those we arrested for an unknown amount of time, contingent on the Dectrose's decisions, even those that were not in command and are, quite possibly innocent in all this? Or would you rather we release them all, and risk a threat that we cannot contain? These are the decisions I face with this debacle."
"The first option of course," Nora answered without missing a beat. "When you pull over a car full of heroin you don't just arrest the driver, you arrest everyone. Guilty by association."
"You are not the one who must inform the Accord and the Annointed that their citizens will not yet be returning home. Lieutenant Gerishanov will see you to the detention center."
One of the armored Marines saluted, and tapped Nora's shoulder.
"This way, comrade reporter."
"Sounds like favoritism," Nora said, standing with a shrug. "We don't want to tell our friends they did something wrong so we'll just let them go scot free. So much for the lofty moral high ground,"
"It is what it is." Tchaikovsky said, and went back to his computer. "We all change in ways we don't want to when war comes knocking, and the news, with respect, should recognize that. The detention center is notified of your arrival, you may go."
The Marine tapped Nora's shoulder again a little more firmly, and led her out of the Admiral's office. She was led back to the surface and was ushered into vehicle. After a moment or two to warm up in the car's heated interior, and then she was driven to the detention center. And by all appearances, it was more or less exactly that. Much of it appeared to be dug into the ground like the base was, and at the gate there was only a single Gladiarus and two troopers on guard. The yard was set off to the side, and Nora could see the Quinterrans from the crew in their suits out in the yard playing football, or... whatever else it was they did to have fun, under the watchful eye of a pair of guards. In the vehicle went, and she was led inside the main building.
"The detainees are on free time around this time of day." Lieutenant Gerishanov informed her as he presented his pass to another guard. "You're here to talk to the XO, Winston, so I'd ask that you not bother any of the others at least for now."
Nora glanced only briefly at the people playing outside before turning her attention back to her escort.
"No goon squad when I talk to him," She said as she walked.
"I'm going to have to be present, as I am the officer on duty," the lieutenant said, crossing his arms as a buzzer sounded and the door to the facility opened. "However, I will not interfere."
Gerishanov walked into the detention facility and motioned Nora to follow. It became clear within a minute or two that this was not a maxsec facility, or a gulag, or any number of horrible things that it could have been. There were many cells, yes, but from the immediate look of the place this was mostly where troublemakers of the sector capital ended up to cool their heels before being released or sent off to the proper corrective institution.
The Dectrose crew of all species (Except for the Quinterrans, who were outside at their game,) were seated around tables doing... well, it looked like whatever they liked. Games, reading, drawing or writing, they were not chained and they were not being mistreated. Of course, there were a few voices that called out the guards as the militia walked about, but for the most part it was peaceful. Lieutenant Gerishanov motioned to one of the guards, and the uniformed militiaman cleared his throat.
"XO Winston, someone here to talk to you! Leave what you're doing, it'll be fine until you get back. C'mon, comrade."
"Look, I'm guessing you're not trying to come off as warmongering jackbooted thugs trying to gode a neutral nation into a war, but you're doing a real good job of coming off that way." Nora said with a sigh. "You want to put the two of us in an interrogation room and stand on the other side of one way glass, fine. But no goon squad or I go to press with a story about heavy handed gestapo agents who wouldn't even let me interview a cooperative prisoner of war in a mid security facility unsupervised."
"Being on the other side of the glass is what I meant, ma'am." Gerishanov said guilelessly. "I said I have to be present, I never said in the room now did I?"
"It was implied." Nora answered cooly. "I'm not an idiot."
Gerishanov shrugged, and pulled off his glasses to wipe them on the sleeve of his greatcoat. "Sorry for giving off the wrong impression, ma'am. Not my intent."
"Mhm" Nora answered.
Winston, now opening his eyes as if he was reading some invisible book in his head, looked about and stood up, immediately garnering the attention of the others in the room, as he motioned with his hand palm down, as if signalling to relax and the crew went about either sitting back with their eyes closed, accessing what database they have left to read or watch movies in their head, or playing some odd-looking game with figurines crafted from given supplies in a semi-circle, with others making bets with whatever they had to bet with. Still others looked displeased, bundled up in blankets as if it was somehow still too cold in the room.
He stepped up to the door and gave a quick salute "Executive Officer Winston, Reporting." his eyes gazed over Nora, and stayed there as if studying her before nodding to her "Hello maam, I assume you're not with the RSC, are you legal council from an allied nation? I'd be happy to speak with you."
"Ahh... No, comrade, they're from the news." Gerishanov said, shaking his head. "Nora, from ANC."
He tilted his head, and looked at Nora again "Oh, I see, a pleasure to meet you Nora. I will answer any questions you may have on the Wyvern Incident, as well as any information you may require to effectively gather your story. However, due to the Alpha 17 Protocol, I cannot give any information on any sensitive or classified documents or mission requirements, as the RSC has been informed of."
"Before we get you two settled in, comrade," Gerishanov asked, "Is there anything your crew need at the moment?"
Winston nodded at the few Officers that where bundled up "Can those men be given thicker clothing? Onboard our ship our climate control had been set to a hot and humid setting, as such is the same on Decoroso. As well, I personally would like to know of any update on the whereabouts of Admiral Anna Ryn, as Decoroso informed me during my call that she was the only member of the crew that had not been revived at their specific cloning facility. Other then that, any entertainment you can provide, books or whatever your race does for fun would help stem the level of boredom, I believe Chief Medical Officer Marcus has read the same book in his database for the third time."
Marcus, seemingly asleep opened an eye at Winston before saying "Fourth." As one of the Officers watching the game had said back "Read slower then Doc."
"Thicker clothing is very possible." the lieutenant assured Winston. "I'll see to it that greatcoats and thicker uniforms are delivered as soon as possible. For Admiral Ryn, we have even less information than you do, unfortunately. If we learn anything, I'll let you know."
He tapped something on his wrist-mounted computer, and looked back to Winston. "I've authorized your crew to check out books and media both digital and hardcopy from the city library. They'll be delivered within an hour or so of your selection, since I can't change security protocols." Gerishanov said, and shrugged helplessly. "Apologies about that, comrade. If there's any games your crew want, just let Sergeant Stranak know."
His posture drooped at the lack of news on Ryn, as he looked up again and sighed, nodding to Nora "Well, shall we go to the room and get this going?"
Gerishanov nodded, and led Nora and Winston towards one of the interview rooms. The room was as plain as one might expect such things to be, and Gerishanov left two glasses of water on the table before he went to observation next door.
"Winston was it?" Nora said taking a seat. "I'm doing an investigation for the ANC into the events surrounding the destruction of your vessel and the deaths of dozens of your crewmen. Could you start by explaining to me in your own words what you believe happened?"
Sitting down on the chair, Winston leaned over closer to Nora, as if getting in a closer position to discuss secrets, though still spoke normally "To start with, I'd like to first clarify that the total Dectrose losses from the Incident have only reached three, that being the USS-aligned Annointed and Admiral Anna Ryn, as well as any RSC personnel that had been attacked by the USS Annointed. The rest have been safely revived at their specified cloning facility, and have had no harm done to them. I assure you, they where simply.. How would I explain.. "Despawned" from the ship in order to prevent them from having to sit in a detention system that was totally unknown to us at the time. We had no idea what to expect, and so I made the decision to save them the uncertainty and have them despawn to be revived at the facility."
He leaned back to his chair and continued "It was also two-fold, in order to alert the Dectrose Empire of the situation in lieu of our ship's comms being jammed." He nodded, and looked up as if accessing his database in his head. "Now, the events leading up to such an incident first started with Rear Admiral Saber's Galactic Core Expedition, and his initial scans of a supernova in the same sector of the galaxy, near Triarch and Annoliddan territories, where different from our own supernovas in our galaxy. So DRI had been interested in studying more of them, about the time the Crucible was deployed by the Grand Empire of Capitol, and the weapon caused stars to go supernova."
"Naturally, with any curious scientific body, the DRI wished to investigate these as well, moreso under the pretense of this being a weapon, and the wonder of how many more of these weapons existed. So Admiral Ryn had been called on to come through the wormhole, and set out on an expedition past Saber's own mission, to further explore a supernova picked up on our sensors." He paused, trying to access something else, but shook his head and pressed on "Ryn started the further exploration with a First Contact with the Annoliddan Inquisition, whom we fought with while investigating an abandoned Axiomatic Facility, and things went very well. However, our own maps indicated that the territory we where in was AGA territory, and thus the Admiral asked the Annoliddans to provide a safe means of travelling through AGA space and not become the target of a confused AGA patrol stumbling on a CORE vessel."
"At the time, it was thought that our allegiance with CORE, the Union assisting CORE in it's attacks against the Voleant/System Alliance, and the Annoliddan transmitter would be enough to convice any AGA ships that we are not hostile, and we are on an exploration mission. However, the Annoliddans had warned us that the Crucible had targeted Ural, in RSC space, and we wished to go forth and try long range scans of it to collect data on how it formed, and what is different from regular supernovas."
"Though, long range scans of the supernova proved useless, and thus, we needed to position ourselves closer. we did so, stopping several times to attempt long range scans, active ones, I must add, that we had figured the RSC would have noticed on their sensors, and the lack of any responce lead us to assume we could get closer, and once we had entered sufficient distance for long range scans to effectively collect data. I believe it was 12 or so systems from the supernova."
"Ryn had collected half the data we needed when the RSC vessels showed up, they demanded we leave the area, much to the confusion of Ryn and the crew, as there had been no responce to earlier attempts of scanning, and we had been playing the AGA-friendly transmission at the time. Ryn, knowing we hadn't collected enough data, attempted to explain our situation to them, as well as provide the credentials we had on hand. The RSC vessels didn't wish to take any of the credentials, and ordered us to leave the area for the second time, though the data we had was nearly complete, all we had needed was a few more moments."
"Ryn tried to buy us those moments, and she was successful in doing so. We had the data in hand, and we where set to leave, however, that is when the RSC vessels opened up interdiction and ordered us to stay at our position, and prepare to be boarded. Ryn and I knew, that if we had tried to run right there, we would likely provoke lethal action, so we complied, and shut down our engines. The idea was for Ryn to offer herself, and the data as an exchange for the ship and the crew to leave, and the Dectrose would send diplomats to remedy the situation afterwards. However, the RSC officials would not negotiate to this, and refused to give us any option but to impound the ship and arrest the crew."
Winston leaned closer again "You must understand, the ship was the cream of the Dectrose's ECM and EW capabilities, if it where to fall into the wrong hands, it would completely destroy and void any electronic superiority we had over another faction, and thus our means to protect our ships and to neutralize enemy ships. So, as the crew and I went into custody, Ryn stayed on the bridge, intent to try several last attempts to free the ship and crew, while the USS-Aligned Annointed stood by her. It was then that the Union of Worlds and Annointed vessels showed up, and also stood with the RSC in their attempt to impound and arrest the ship and crew."
He struggled for a moment, accessing his restricted database "Which was a violation of the Mutual Defense Pact that had been signed by the Dectrose and Annointed, I have been told that a Diplomat would be sent to remedy that situation as well in my call to Decoroso. But seemingly, Annointed declared the USS Annointed as non-aligned on their IFFs and RSC subsequently opened fire, though after that things are not so clear. Ryn had died, and the two USS Annointed had expired as well, though we don't know much other then a psionic storm enveloped the bridge."
He leaned back, relaxed now as he continued "After Ryn expired, I was now in command of the crew and the ship, and as the ship was vital to the Dectrose's continued superiority of their EW and ECM systems, I had ordered the ship to be scuttled once all living personnel, friendly and hostile, left the ship and entered a safe distance away, the non-essential crew below an Officer rank to be despawned and revived at a cloning facility, and the data to be destroyed along with the ship, as the RSC had refused to accept it, and they had taken hostile action on us. So to clarify, the Dectrose scuttled the ship, and the AGA had not destroyed it, though subsequent fire from the Annointed, RSC and Union vessels would have destroyed it."
He paused and remembered what he had left out "As well, I believe I explained that the Alpha 17 Protocol I inacted had wiped all vital and classified data from our databanks, to make sure that any interrogation attempts would be fruitless."
"If killing the crew and resurrecting them is so safe then how come you only terminated non-officers?" Nora asked as soon as the man had finished speaking. "Why let anyone be captured at all if you can just kill them and resurrect them again?"
Winston stared at Nora, though it was obvious his focus was elsewhere, he remained quiet for a few passing moments as he then blinked and returned his focus to her "It was clear to me that this incident was a large misunderstanding, likely from all sides. And even though diplomacy had failed with Admiral Ryn, we knew that the Dectrose would be more inclined to perform diplomacy if we where allowed to be captured, and also send the best diplomats they had. Likewise with the RSC, with neutral-aligned detainees, and those same people belonged to a nation that's currently standing beside the Union in a war against an enemy of CORE, that they would be less likely to cause another incident that may be seen by the galaxy as a whole as either the RSC attacking neutral nations, or as AGA targeting a member of CORE."
He leaned back again, now crossing his arms over his chest "This situation that the Dectrose, RSC and Union find themselves in is one that can turn out well, or perhaps it won't turn out well at all. Only the diplomats can say for certain. And although I may be stripped of my command or otherwise reprimanded for performing the actions I have done, the simple fact that I am talking to you is showing progress in the diplomatic capabilites of all the involved nations." He paused for a moment, as his brow furrowed "Although the Anointed themselves must realize that they have not upheld the several diplomatic agreements that exist between them and the Dectrose, and that such decisions will have consequences to the relationship between the two powers. I still hold onto the hope that the situation between us will also be remedied, and we can still depend on such a great and powerful ally."
"I highly doubt that much strategic thinking went into a split second decision." Nora answered in a dead pan before jotting down some notes.
"The RSC ordered you to vacate the area twice before they boarded your ship amd impounded it. Why did yoy Ryn refuse both times? Surely she knew by the second time that she would start an incident if she continued to be uncooperative?"
Winston chuckled a little "The ship itself may be small, but there is plenty of time to think when you're being marched to the docking bay. With my augmentations as well, it's not impossible to discern all of this in that period of time. It was less of a split-second decision and more of a reflection on the situation." He inhaled sharply then, then exhaled with a sort of synthetic wheeze. "Though regardless, the choice came with consequences but in that moment it was the best one."
The next question made him pause, and he stared ahead until blinking "We had been ordered to vacate, and we had refused both times. Our refusal was moreso due in part to confusion on our side due to the RSC's aggressive nature. We had not imagined someone of this attitude to be working alongside those such as Annointed, Accord or Union. We had tried to provide credentials and permissions to travel through AGA space from another AGA member known as the Annoliddan Inquisition. These consitituted the two refusals."
"Ryn, as far as I know, was attempting to both negotiate as well as buy time for the scan to produce viable results, as we had known the system was attacked by Crucible and we wished to compare this intentional supernova against naturally occuring ones. There was in no way any warning that the space near it was a No-Fly Zone, and with our AGA permissions, the scans would be perfectly fine, considering the lack of responce to our earlier long-range scans and medium-range scans. Though those did not provide adequate information."
He stopped and looked around, as if trying to find a camera, before saying out loud "Is there any chance I may have a container of water?"
There was a small click from a speaker mounted on the wall.
"Just a moment, comrade." Gerishanov said, and a moment later the officer appeared with a pitcher of ice water and two glasses. Filling both, he set one before Winston and the other before Nora before setting the pitcher within reach of them both, stepping out of the room and closing the door.
"So much for the goonsquad staying out," Nora said with a roll of her eyes, flipping the notebook closed.
"So the whole situation seems to stem from a combination of your own incompetence and the RSC's pigheadedness, would you say that's a fair assessment?"
As he picked his glass up, a small orange glow eminated from his eyes, looking at the cup of water in his grasp before the orange glow subsided and he took a drink, shrugging at Nora's response to the RSC presence. He waited for a moment to put it down, and nodded to her "That is a fair assessment given the light of the situation."
"Things could have been done on both sides to prevent this exact situation from happening, the Annointed and Union too could have shifted the situation for a more peaceful resolution. But all I can hope is that our diplomacy mission to remedy this will allow me and my men to return to Decoroso and have nothing to do with the RSC ever again."
She stood wordlessly and shrugged.
"Then I guess we're done here,"
He interlocked his hands on the table, and nodded "Thank you for investigating, it was a pleasure to speak to you."
And so, Nora had successfully cut through bureaucracy's best efforts to stop her and had an interview scheduled with one RSC bigwig or another to discuss just exactly what had happened in Ural between the RSC and the Dectrose.
Nora likely was partly expecting to be approached by a fireteam of heavily armed and geared Restevian Marines as she sat in the little café on Stratavask Avenue where she'd been asked to wait. She probably had been expecting to some extent to be ushered into a military vehicle, and to be driven towards one of the larger bases. But, she probably hadn't expected to be taken deep into the base to the command bunkers, and brought to a understated office within which waited a serious looking man in a understated uniform.
His service was worn proudly on his breast, and she'd likely seen this man's face on the news-- this was Admiral of the Fleet Oleg Tchaikovsky, commander of all Restevian forces in the galaxy. The marines take up guard positions to either side of the office, and the Admiral pointed Nora to a seat.
"Welcome, comrade." he said. "I heard you had some questions for me, about the recent mess in Ural."
"Mess is an understatement," Nora replied with a practiced calm. No matter how out of her element she may be she was quite skilled at always appearing in control.
"Dozens dead, a neutral ship destroyed by an allied power to make no mention of the stirrings in the international community... mess doesn't even begin to cover what happened at Ural."
She sat down, pulling a pad of paper and a pen from her pockets.
"So why don't we start with you explaining everything that transpired?"
"I'd appreciate it if you decided to ask something specific, but very well." the Admiral said evenly.
"A patrol stopped a Dectrose craft within the no-fly zone, and it was warned to depart the area. Twice. Once it did not and it was detected to be actively scanning the supernovae, it was boarded and the crew detained for intrusion pending a hearing and release. The Union of Worlds dispatched a light squadron to aid RSC efforts, and the boarding went off without issue until the Dectrose commander refused to surrender her crew and ship. For reasons we have not been able to fully ascertain, she terminated most of her crew. Following this, Annointed special forces of a sort opened fire and the Dectrose ship was destroyed by the Dectrose commander. That is all."
"I read the press release, Admiral" Nora said with a sigh and a faux pout. "I'm looking for things that weren't in the briefing. Why were they even there in yhe first place? Why did they refuse yo vacate the system? How was the nofly zone advertised? Why did they ignore it?"
She leaned back in her chair.
"I didn't come all this way for you to reguritate the press briefing."
There was a long pause, and Nora could hear one of the Marines mutter a heartfelt expletive at her directness. Then the Admiral took a deep breath.
"To be honest, comrade reporter, we do not know for sure why they were in the system. Perhaps they were attempting to scan the supernova for their own purposes, or perhaps they were there to challenge us." the Admiral said coolly. "We don't really know for sure, as their computer data was lost when the ship was destroyed. As for why they refused to vacate the system, that we also cannot know for sure. The prevailing theory is that they wished to finish their scanning, which considering how they were facing down a pair of cruisers at the time was brave of them."
Following this, Admiral Tchaikovsky steeple his fingers and stared right at her. "By the way, the attempted pouting is not working as you'd prefer. I will admit that we could have done better to make sure that the no-fly zone was known, but the fact remains that the no-fly zone was made public on the Ancerious net. Perhaps we could have made it clearer, but the fact remains that it was no secret. And once more, we do not know for sure why they chose to ignore the no-fly zone. Perhaps it was to facilitate their scanning. All these things, we will know, or at least have a better idea of, when the interviews of the surviving crew have ended."
"Sounds ominous," Nora commented jotting down some notes. "How much of the crew did actually survive and why did so many end up dead?"
"Thirty-nine crew survived, and are currently being interviewed and accommodated." Tchaikovsky said honestly. "Near as we can tell, those crew that were killed were terminated by the Dectrose commander using some kind of..." he waved his hand, searching for the right word. "Killswitch, is our best guess, targeted to Dectrose crew below a certain rank. Our medics attempted resuscitation, but it came to no fruition unfortunately.."
"I'll want an interview with the commanding officer obviously," Nora commented before looking up from her notepad. "Our sources indicate other allied fleets were present. Why did yhe RSC take unilateral action without any sort of conversation with those powers? Especially since they had more of a rapport with the Dectrose Empire than the RSC?"
"If the Union of Worlds has a rapport with the Dectrose Empire, the commander on site failed to notify our patrol of it." Tchaikovsky said flatly. "As for the Annointed, the patrol informed the Bedlam in Belgium of their purpose and actions, and the Annointed took no actions to stop them. As of now, the Annointed crew are in the process of being returned to their people."
"And the other foreign nationals aboard the vessel?" Nora pressed, rocking her chair back on to two legs and eyeing the Admiral.
"And how come the RSC didn't release a joint statement? And don't think I've forgotten about wanting to talk to the Dectrose CO."
“One question at a time." the Admiral said, waving a hand. "The Accordite citizens are being processed and treated for any injuries they might have sustained, and then they will be returned home. The others all species will be accommodated until an agreement can be reached with the Dectrose. If such an agreement cannot be reached, they will be processed as POWs and treated fairly as per our codes of conduct until the war is over."
"You are still at war with the Accord." Nora pointed out without missing a beat. "The Accord are APP members and yet you rease the soldiers of an APP member nation and continue to hold soldiers belonging to a neutral power. What's the justification behind that?"
"I suppose this wouldn't stay a secret forever..." Tchaikovsky sighed. "RSC is in a NAP with the Accord. They are not our enemies at this time."
"And yet they have citizens liasing with a vessel declared hostile. Seems to me they may well have broken their pact. Why discriminate against the Dectrose? Why release the Anointed for that matter? Seems to me they're playing both sides of the conflict here."
"The Dectrose intruded on RSC space in a Dectrose vessel. We are holding them until we can confirm with the Dectrose either a cessation of intrusions or open hostility. Suffice to say, the situation is in flux, and the Annointed are not being discounted in this. Next subject."
"So let me get this straight: The Dectrose show up with both Anointed and Accordite personnel in addition to their own and after arresting everyone you release personnel of your allies, you release personnel from an ally of several enemies you are currently at war with, but you detain personnel from a neutral nation. Not only that, you detain personnel from a neutral nation that is allied with one of your allies and shares close relations with a second one of your allies," Nora snorted and scribbled notes. "That's a clear sign of discrimination Admiral. How do you expect to claim the moral high ground when you're showcasing such blatant display of discrimination?"
“Next subject, please." Tchakovsky said flatly, his expression and voice still calm. If she was trying to provoke anger, or a slipup, it wasn't working as she intended. "I just said what will happen to the Dectrose. Beyond that is classified. So. Next subject."
"So then you have no problem being described as a discriminatory bigot?" Nora pressed.
"I have every problem with it." came the response, still calm and collected. "However, the fact remains that until the standing of the RSC and Dectrose is determined it would be unwise to release their crew. Understand it from our perspective. We have allowed the Dectrose crew their calls home, what if in those calls were orders to slaughter every Restevian civilian between detention facility and the spaceport? We do not fear that from the Annointed, because very, very seldom in our history has their been a force that rescued billions of our people only to turn on us shortly after. We do not fear the Accord, because while we are not allies, neither are we open enemies. In addition to that, the Accord are honorable, and have not reneged on any deal struck with them since contact was made. We doubt they will attack us for returning their citizens."
Tchaikovsky narrowed his eyes slightly.
"And if it would reassure you and your editors to know, nobody has been released yet. Not a one, as interviews are still ongoing."
"So its favoritism," Nora commented. "That's not necessarily better. But I won't tell you how to make foreign policy. Just don't be surprised when your decision making fails to play well with the public. Now, when can I see their commanding officer?"
"Comrade." Tchakovsky said suddenly. He was still calm, but his tone had become hard. "I would respectfully as that you respect my capacity to make the hard decisions it takes t lead the RSC in Ancerious, but I will ask you this. Would you rather that we hold all of those we arrested for an unknown amount of time, contingent on the Dectrose's decisions, even those that were not in command and are, quite possibly innocent in all this? Or would you rather we release them all, and risk a threat that we cannot contain? These are the decisions I face with this debacle."
"The first option of course," Nora answered without missing a beat. "When you pull over a car full of heroin you don't just arrest the driver, you arrest everyone. Guilty by association."
"You are not the one who must inform the Accord and the Annointed that their citizens will not yet be returning home. Lieutenant Gerishanov will see you to the detention center."
One of the armored Marines saluted, and tapped Nora's shoulder.
"This way, comrade reporter."
"Sounds like favoritism," Nora said, standing with a shrug. "We don't want to tell our friends they did something wrong so we'll just let them go scot free. So much for the lofty moral high ground,"
"It is what it is." Tchaikovsky said, and went back to his computer. "We all change in ways we don't want to when war comes knocking, and the news, with respect, should recognize that. The detention center is notified of your arrival, you may go."
The Marine tapped Nora's shoulder again a little more firmly, and led her out of the Admiral's office. She was led back to the surface and was ushered into vehicle. After a moment or two to warm up in the car's heated interior, and then she was driven to the detention center. And by all appearances, it was more or less exactly that. Much of it appeared to be dug into the ground like the base was, and at the gate there was only a single Gladiarus and two troopers on guard. The yard was set off to the side, and Nora could see the Quinterrans from the crew in their suits out in the yard playing football, or... whatever else it was they did to have fun, under the watchful eye of a pair of guards. In the vehicle went, and she was led inside the main building.
"The detainees are on free time around this time of day." Lieutenant Gerishanov informed her as he presented his pass to another guard. "You're here to talk to the XO, Winston, so I'd ask that you not bother any of the others at least for now."
Nora glanced only briefly at the people playing outside before turning her attention back to her escort.
"No goon squad when I talk to him," She said as she walked.
"I'm going to have to be present, as I am the officer on duty," the lieutenant said, crossing his arms as a buzzer sounded and the door to the facility opened. "However, I will not interfere."
Gerishanov walked into the detention facility and motioned Nora to follow. It became clear within a minute or two that this was not a maxsec facility, or a gulag, or any number of horrible things that it could have been. There were many cells, yes, but from the immediate look of the place this was mostly where troublemakers of the sector capital ended up to cool their heels before being released or sent off to the proper corrective institution.
The Dectrose crew of all species (Except for the Quinterrans, who were outside at their game,) were seated around tables doing... well, it looked like whatever they liked. Games, reading, drawing or writing, they were not chained and they were not being mistreated. Of course, there were a few voices that called out the guards as the militia walked about, but for the most part it was peaceful. Lieutenant Gerishanov motioned to one of the guards, and the uniformed militiaman cleared his throat.
"XO Winston, someone here to talk to you! Leave what you're doing, it'll be fine until you get back. C'mon, comrade."
"Look, I'm guessing you're not trying to come off as warmongering jackbooted thugs trying to gode a neutral nation into a war, but you're doing a real good job of coming off that way." Nora said with a sigh. "You want to put the two of us in an interrogation room and stand on the other side of one way glass, fine. But no goon squad or I go to press with a story about heavy handed gestapo agents who wouldn't even let me interview a cooperative prisoner of war in a mid security facility unsupervised."
"Being on the other side of the glass is what I meant, ma'am." Gerishanov said guilelessly. "I said I have to be present, I never said in the room now did I?"
"It was implied." Nora answered cooly. "I'm not an idiot."
Gerishanov shrugged, and pulled off his glasses to wipe them on the sleeve of his greatcoat. "Sorry for giving off the wrong impression, ma'am. Not my intent."
"Mhm" Nora answered.
Winston, now opening his eyes as if he was reading some invisible book in his head, looked about and stood up, immediately garnering the attention of the others in the room, as he motioned with his hand palm down, as if signalling to relax and the crew went about either sitting back with their eyes closed, accessing what database they have left to read or watch movies in their head, or playing some odd-looking game with figurines crafted from given supplies in a semi-circle, with others making bets with whatever they had to bet with. Still others looked displeased, bundled up in blankets as if it was somehow still too cold in the room.
He stepped up to the door and gave a quick salute "Executive Officer Winston, Reporting." his eyes gazed over Nora, and stayed there as if studying her before nodding to her "Hello maam, I assume you're not with the RSC, are you legal council from an allied nation? I'd be happy to speak with you."
"Ahh... No, comrade, they're from the news." Gerishanov said, shaking his head. "Nora, from ANC."
He tilted his head, and looked at Nora again "Oh, I see, a pleasure to meet you Nora. I will answer any questions you may have on the Wyvern Incident, as well as any information you may require to effectively gather your story. However, due to the Alpha 17 Protocol, I cannot give any information on any sensitive or classified documents or mission requirements, as the RSC has been informed of."
"Before we get you two settled in, comrade," Gerishanov asked, "Is there anything your crew need at the moment?"
Winston nodded at the few Officers that where bundled up "Can those men be given thicker clothing? Onboard our ship our climate control had been set to a hot and humid setting, as such is the same on Decoroso. As well, I personally would like to know of any update on the whereabouts of Admiral Anna Ryn, as Decoroso informed me during my call that she was the only member of the crew that had not been revived at their specific cloning facility. Other then that, any entertainment you can provide, books or whatever your race does for fun would help stem the level of boredom, I believe Chief Medical Officer Marcus has read the same book in his database for the third time."
Marcus, seemingly asleep opened an eye at Winston before saying "Fourth." As one of the Officers watching the game had said back "Read slower then Doc."
"Thicker clothing is very possible." the lieutenant assured Winston. "I'll see to it that greatcoats and thicker uniforms are delivered as soon as possible. For Admiral Ryn, we have even less information than you do, unfortunately. If we learn anything, I'll let you know."
He tapped something on his wrist-mounted computer, and looked back to Winston. "I've authorized your crew to check out books and media both digital and hardcopy from the city library. They'll be delivered within an hour or so of your selection, since I can't change security protocols." Gerishanov said, and shrugged helplessly. "Apologies about that, comrade. If there's any games your crew want, just let Sergeant Stranak know."
His posture drooped at the lack of news on Ryn, as he looked up again and sighed, nodding to Nora "Well, shall we go to the room and get this going?"
Gerishanov nodded, and led Nora and Winston towards one of the interview rooms. The room was as plain as one might expect such things to be, and Gerishanov left two glasses of water on the table before he went to observation next door.
"Winston was it?" Nora said taking a seat. "I'm doing an investigation for the ANC into the events surrounding the destruction of your vessel and the deaths of dozens of your crewmen. Could you start by explaining to me in your own words what you believe happened?"
Sitting down on the chair, Winston leaned over closer to Nora, as if getting in a closer position to discuss secrets, though still spoke normally "To start with, I'd like to first clarify that the total Dectrose losses from the Incident have only reached three, that being the USS-aligned Annointed and Admiral Anna Ryn, as well as any RSC personnel that had been attacked by the USS Annointed. The rest have been safely revived at their specified cloning facility, and have had no harm done to them. I assure you, they where simply.. How would I explain.. "Despawned" from the ship in order to prevent them from having to sit in a detention system that was totally unknown to us at the time. We had no idea what to expect, and so I made the decision to save them the uncertainty and have them despawn to be revived at the facility."
He leaned back to his chair and continued "It was also two-fold, in order to alert the Dectrose Empire of the situation in lieu of our ship's comms being jammed." He nodded, and looked up as if accessing his database in his head. "Now, the events leading up to such an incident first started with Rear Admiral Saber's Galactic Core Expedition, and his initial scans of a supernova in the same sector of the galaxy, near Triarch and Annoliddan territories, where different from our own supernovas in our galaxy. So DRI had been interested in studying more of them, about the time the Crucible was deployed by the Grand Empire of Capitol, and the weapon caused stars to go supernova."
"Naturally, with any curious scientific body, the DRI wished to investigate these as well, moreso under the pretense of this being a weapon, and the wonder of how many more of these weapons existed. So Admiral Ryn had been called on to come through the wormhole, and set out on an expedition past Saber's own mission, to further explore a supernova picked up on our sensors." He paused, trying to access something else, but shook his head and pressed on "Ryn started the further exploration with a First Contact with the Annoliddan Inquisition, whom we fought with while investigating an abandoned Axiomatic Facility, and things went very well. However, our own maps indicated that the territory we where in was AGA territory, and thus the Admiral asked the Annoliddans to provide a safe means of travelling through AGA space and not become the target of a confused AGA patrol stumbling on a CORE vessel."
"At the time, it was thought that our allegiance with CORE, the Union assisting CORE in it's attacks against the Voleant/System Alliance, and the Annoliddan transmitter would be enough to convice any AGA ships that we are not hostile, and we are on an exploration mission. However, the Annoliddans had warned us that the Crucible had targeted Ural, in RSC space, and we wished to go forth and try long range scans of it to collect data on how it formed, and what is different from regular supernovas."
"Though, long range scans of the supernova proved useless, and thus, we needed to position ourselves closer. we did so, stopping several times to attempt long range scans, active ones, I must add, that we had figured the RSC would have noticed on their sensors, and the lack of any responce lead us to assume we could get closer, and once we had entered sufficient distance for long range scans to effectively collect data. I believe it was 12 or so systems from the supernova."
"Ryn had collected half the data we needed when the RSC vessels showed up, they demanded we leave the area, much to the confusion of Ryn and the crew, as there had been no responce to earlier attempts of scanning, and we had been playing the AGA-friendly transmission at the time. Ryn, knowing we hadn't collected enough data, attempted to explain our situation to them, as well as provide the credentials we had on hand. The RSC vessels didn't wish to take any of the credentials, and ordered us to leave the area for the second time, though the data we had was nearly complete, all we had needed was a few more moments."
"Ryn tried to buy us those moments, and she was successful in doing so. We had the data in hand, and we where set to leave, however, that is when the RSC vessels opened up interdiction and ordered us to stay at our position, and prepare to be boarded. Ryn and I knew, that if we had tried to run right there, we would likely provoke lethal action, so we complied, and shut down our engines. The idea was for Ryn to offer herself, and the data as an exchange for the ship and the crew to leave, and the Dectrose would send diplomats to remedy the situation afterwards. However, the RSC officials would not negotiate to this, and refused to give us any option but to impound the ship and arrest the crew."
Winston leaned closer again "You must understand, the ship was the cream of the Dectrose's ECM and EW capabilities, if it where to fall into the wrong hands, it would completely destroy and void any electronic superiority we had over another faction, and thus our means to protect our ships and to neutralize enemy ships. So, as the crew and I went into custody, Ryn stayed on the bridge, intent to try several last attempts to free the ship and crew, while the USS-Aligned Annointed stood by her. It was then that the Union of Worlds and Annointed vessels showed up, and also stood with the RSC in their attempt to impound and arrest the ship and crew."
He struggled for a moment, accessing his restricted database "Which was a violation of the Mutual Defense Pact that had been signed by the Dectrose and Annointed, I have been told that a Diplomat would be sent to remedy that situation as well in my call to Decoroso. But seemingly, Annointed declared the USS Annointed as non-aligned on their IFFs and RSC subsequently opened fire, though after that things are not so clear. Ryn had died, and the two USS Annointed had expired as well, though we don't know much other then a psionic storm enveloped the bridge."
He leaned back, relaxed now as he continued "After Ryn expired, I was now in command of the crew and the ship, and as the ship was vital to the Dectrose's continued superiority of their EW and ECM systems, I had ordered the ship to be scuttled once all living personnel, friendly and hostile, left the ship and entered a safe distance away, the non-essential crew below an Officer rank to be despawned and revived at a cloning facility, and the data to be destroyed along with the ship, as the RSC had refused to accept it, and they had taken hostile action on us. So to clarify, the Dectrose scuttled the ship, and the AGA had not destroyed it, though subsequent fire from the Annointed, RSC and Union vessels would have destroyed it."
He paused and remembered what he had left out "As well, I believe I explained that the Alpha 17 Protocol I inacted had wiped all vital and classified data from our databanks, to make sure that any interrogation attempts would be fruitless."
"If killing the crew and resurrecting them is so safe then how come you only terminated non-officers?" Nora asked as soon as the man had finished speaking. "Why let anyone be captured at all if you can just kill them and resurrect them again?"
Winston stared at Nora, though it was obvious his focus was elsewhere, he remained quiet for a few passing moments as he then blinked and returned his focus to her "It was clear to me that this incident was a large misunderstanding, likely from all sides. And even though diplomacy had failed with Admiral Ryn, we knew that the Dectrose would be more inclined to perform diplomacy if we where allowed to be captured, and also send the best diplomats they had. Likewise with the RSC, with neutral-aligned detainees, and those same people belonged to a nation that's currently standing beside the Union in a war against an enemy of CORE, that they would be less likely to cause another incident that may be seen by the galaxy as a whole as either the RSC attacking neutral nations, or as AGA targeting a member of CORE."
He leaned back again, now crossing his arms over his chest "This situation that the Dectrose, RSC and Union find themselves in is one that can turn out well, or perhaps it won't turn out well at all. Only the diplomats can say for certain. And although I may be stripped of my command or otherwise reprimanded for performing the actions I have done, the simple fact that I am talking to you is showing progress in the diplomatic capabilites of all the involved nations." He paused for a moment, as his brow furrowed "Although the Anointed themselves must realize that they have not upheld the several diplomatic agreements that exist between them and the Dectrose, and that such decisions will have consequences to the relationship between the two powers. I still hold onto the hope that the situation between us will also be remedied, and we can still depend on such a great and powerful ally."
"I highly doubt that much strategic thinking went into a split second decision." Nora answered in a dead pan before jotting down some notes.
"The RSC ordered you to vacate the area twice before they boarded your ship amd impounded it. Why did yoy Ryn refuse both times? Surely she knew by the second time that she would start an incident if she continued to be uncooperative?"
Winston chuckled a little "The ship itself may be small, but there is plenty of time to think when you're being marched to the docking bay. With my augmentations as well, it's not impossible to discern all of this in that period of time. It was less of a split-second decision and more of a reflection on the situation." He inhaled sharply then, then exhaled with a sort of synthetic wheeze. "Though regardless, the choice came with consequences but in that moment it was the best one."
The next question made him pause, and he stared ahead until blinking "We had been ordered to vacate, and we had refused both times. Our refusal was moreso due in part to confusion on our side due to the RSC's aggressive nature. We had not imagined someone of this attitude to be working alongside those such as Annointed, Accord or Union. We had tried to provide credentials and permissions to travel through AGA space from another AGA member known as the Annoliddan Inquisition. These consitituted the two refusals."
"Ryn, as far as I know, was attempting to both negotiate as well as buy time for the scan to produce viable results, as we had known the system was attacked by Crucible and we wished to compare this intentional supernova against naturally occuring ones. There was in no way any warning that the space near it was a No-Fly Zone, and with our AGA permissions, the scans would be perfectly fine, considering the lack of responce to our earlier long-range scans and medium-range scans. Though those did not provide adequate information."
He stopped and looked around, as if trying to find a camera, before saying out loud "Is there any chance I may have a container of water?"
There was a small click from a speaker mounted on the wall.
"Just a moment, comrade." Gerishanov said, and a moment later the officer appeared with a pitcher of ice water and two glasses. Filling both, he set one before Winston and the other before Nora before setting the pitcher within reach of them both, stepping out of the room and closing the door.
"So much for the goonsquad staying out," Nora said with a roll of her eyes, flipping the notebook closed.
"So the whole situation seems to stem from a combination of your own incompetence and the RSC's pigheadedness, would you say that's a fair assessment?"
As he picked his glass up, a small orange glow eminated from his eyes, looking at the cup of water in his grasp before the orange glow subsided and he took a drink, shrugging at Nora's response to the RSC presence. He waited for a moment to put it down, and nodded to her "That is a fair assessment given the light of the situation."
"Things could have been done on both sides to prevent this exact situation from happening, the Annointed and Union too could have shifted the situation for a more peaceful resolution. But all I can hope is that our diplomacy mission to remedy this will allow me and my men to return to Decoroso and have nothing to do with the RSC ever again."
She stood wordlessly and shrugged.
"Then I guess we're done here,"
He interlocked his hands on the table, and nodded "Thank you for investigating, it was a pleasure to speak to you."