Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 15:58:45 GMT
Pavonis Prime: Union Space
Dustin was a junior reporter with the ANC. He'd only just started with the corporation and was still a fresh faced, perhaps naive journalist. But several pieces he'd written in university had achieved some level of success, and with most of the senior reporters busy following Nora on a piece she was writing on the war between the Davians and a new power bloc calling itself AURA it had fallen to Dustin to attend what was expected to be a rather routine gathering of the press corp.
So, Dustin arrived at the gathering alone, with only an autonomous recording unit as an escort, the drone hovering beisde the casually dressed reporter as he took the seat reserved for the ANC and awaited the beginning of the conference
The press conference itself was a fairly large one, it was finally the turn of AGA to respond to growing alegations against it in regards to the situation with AURA as well as the hiring of pirates, and most likely several other events of the war. Reporters and other personel funnelled into the room, the entire event taking place in Pavonis Prime, the various reporters having to go through stringent security to take part. It would be a AGA event however the Union and Carnaith were talking for the entire alliance. Mutterings and the usual rumblings pervaded the large conference room as it was yet to begin, several Union guards stood around the perimeter of the room not visually armed but it was garunteed that they somehow were, the Union were not shying on precuation these days not since the start of the war.
Eventually the doors opened on the other side and surprisingly instead of Admiral Hargun, the female well built form of Fleet captain Zephyr Sacule entered along with the Carnaithian dignitory. She was in full military dress and carried a data slate, two podiums were up front and she took the second one nodding to the Carnaith rep seemingly at some hidden joke made before she had entered the room. She waited for her ally to get ready and for the talking in the room to settle down.
It all began seemingly boring and routine. There were guards, plenty of other reporters, yes, yes, all so very routine... right up until it wasn't.
The sudden appearance of someone other than Admiral Hargun as a Union appointed spokesperson struck Dustin as odd. He tapped his tablet, sending a few short commands to the drone which subsequently snapped a picture of Fleet Captain Sacule and began combing through AncNet for any readily available.
Dustin couldn't help but smirk at the thought this conference could very well be anything but routine
Celia Andronam was the Carnaithian spokesperson for the event; while not one of the high generals, she was still of fairly high significance. Not that anyone but CIGO and Capitol would know that, of course. A few flexi-screen scrolls laid out on the podium in front of her, and she turned to Sacule. Celia had no intention of taking initiative during all of this. The Union also generally had more vested interest in the activities of the AGA as a whole as well; Carnaith was quite independent, despite being one of the senior members of the alliance.
Sacule began to speak as Celia seemed ready.
"Thank you all for coming today, I firstly wish to apologise that Admiral Hargun himself isnt here today conducting this press conference he was called away at the last moment to personally oversee the negotiations between the AGA and AURA over recent events. I will be standing in his place of course and he has left me with the information nessecary. If nobody has any resignations over this we shall begin." She paused for a moment before starting to read, clearly checking an unseen holographic as she went.
"In regards to the actions involving the AGA nations defending the Divine Davian Empire this has been denounced and condemmed by the rest of the AGA and was not in any way a sanctioned and collaborated AGA action on behalf of the power bloc. We condemn the Divine Davian Empire of its very public crimes and incompetance and have ceased all ties to such a nation, despite the events in Voicon and the strange arrival of the A'Zores the AGA and AURA have come to a ceasefire and are now negotiating with both sides eager to find resolution peacefully. The entire situation was a misunderstanding and one that can be easily resolved by diplomacy, we will update you on this progress as it follows" She paused again.
"There have also been strong allegations from both the APP and the Dectrose that the AGA hired pirates to track down the Z1, the BSO to be exact and that they caused an incident in Dectrose space leading to their capture. This I state is true, however I wish to clear up why exactly this took place. The BSO seemed to be one of the more less chaotic privateer forces in the galaxy and with our own forces especially intelligence drawn thinly around the invasions of Rubikon and the attack on the loathesome terror weapon of the Crucible we needed to keep eyes on APP forces in such an area. The original place was for BSO to interdict APP reinforcements, but the presence of the EPA super weapon Z1 its escape had to be tracked, we have reason to believe its power matches that of the Crucible and such a threat to galactic peace and civilian lives cannot be allowed to easily roam the stars. The BSO tracked the weapon to Dectrose space and so the debarcle erupted on the border. The statement is yes the AGA hired privateers to track enemy formations, however the AGA now also has reason to believe that the Dectrose are harbouring an APP weapon of mass destruction, which we condemn to the highest order and ask that they expel its prescence immediately or break negotiated pacts with the AGA" She let that sink in before continuing.
"As for the war the situation continues to fluctuate however we are now pushing back the APP, Rubikon slowly turns ever more in our favour while we destroy the Crucible and bring the terror of system wide destruction to an end. We also have confirmation that the Accordite have left the APP and that another member who will not be named as yet is neogitating with the AGA for a potential withdrawal. With the Eos incident now over we can also conclude that the Eosians have more or less wiped themselves out, the APP is crumbling and it is only a matter of time before stability is brought to the galaxy as a whole. That is the main statement, my friend here can add more, then we shall take questions"
While showing none of it, Celia had wished Sacule had asked for a little bit of rehearsal before stepping out here. She, in turn, looked to the reporters.
"The Voi Con action was, as stated, an action taken by individual nations rather than co-operative force. Several stories were kept separated from the parties involved, causing AGA nations to engage AURA forces in the system under the pretense of defending a commerce nation despite publicized documents denouncing Davian activities. While these exist, it is not against conventions for AGA members to take action and act as a buffer. The problem with the situation, however, was that the AURA side of the story was deflected in favor of a clash," She stated regarding Sacules' first comment, not leaving much time before beginning on the second; Celia had no desire to touch on the Dectrose debacle, seeing as Carnaith had no desire to hire BSO in the first place nor did they care about their mistakes under the alliances' banner. That said...
"I can confirm the statement as to the war effort. However, despite the overall situation leaning in favor of the AGA we cannot ignore the fact that the APP still possess at least one strategic weapon, and that it needs to be hunted down and destroyed before it can make its attack."
"Dustin Savage, ANC," Dustin said once the press gallery was opened to question. His drone rose above the crowd, focusing in on Celia and Sacules as Dustin spoke.
"If I can begin with a quick recap: The Divine Davian Empire has publicly executed their generals on galactic television as a result of incompetency which resulted in several thousand military deaths among an unaffiliated nation, and then started a war with a power bloc that has associated itself with the Ancient Ones, who I will remind you, believe that casually destroying a planet is an appropriate show of force prior to demanding a cease fire, and despite the fact they are supported by four AGA member nations you have chosen to sever all trade, military, and diplomatic ties with them.
"Meanwhile, the Dectrose Empire has, by their own admission, taken an offensive action against the Artificia, an AGA member state, violated a no-fly zone established by the RSC, another AGA member station, and then behaved belligerently with the RSC and other AGA members who arrived resulting in several hundred deaths, and on top of all that has provided sanctuary to a category three superweapon belonging to a major APP power. In response the AGA is only, just now, considering that maybe some treaties will be anulled. Why the massive difference in foreign policy?"
"That recap is correct yes" Sacule replied cooly not rising to take any bait "However there has been no shift in foreign policy. Davia is unilaterally polar opposite to the AGA and we have condemmed the actions of them and their leaders highly, there was seemingly no need for a intervention however as AURA swiftly did it for us, albeit more aggressively and we also condemn the actions of the AO who we have heard of before. However as we said the several AGA factions defending Davia were doing so of their own accord and do not reflect the AGA as a whole. They may have been upholding temporary treaties or defensive pacts which both the Union and Carnaith here have called to be totally annulled following this event as what you say is true Davia does not deserve any protection, quite the opposite and is also why we are seeking a diplomatic resolution one that also holds the AOs actions accountable"
"As for the Dectrose however we have a treaty over the events at Ural one which given the current circumstances has been grossly spat on. For actions against the AU we know that the Dectrose took such, while the AU were not yet a AGA member the close proximity to joining still means that treaties after prevented us from intervening in those affairs. I do state this however as Celia will agree. We call upon the Dectrose to immediately hand over the Z1 or its co-ordinates to the AGA as a matter of galactic security so that many billions of lives shall be spared. If they fail to do this however we will be forced to take action to remove the stain of Z1 from the galaxy whether co-operatively with the Dectrose or without such we would prefer to resolve this without conflict but we will not shy away from the option of it"
Dustin jotted down some notes on the answer. It had been firmer than he had expected given the AGA's decidedly... lax enforcement of policy on the Dectrose in the past. Still, it could all be a show. Time would tell if the AGA was taking a harsher stance or not.
He rose with another question a few minutes later.
"The AGA seems content for the moment to let AURA invade with the Davians but what does the AGA really know about AURA? Do they have a charter? Objectives? How can you be sure you're not allowing the Davians to fall to slavers and dictators?"
"We are not sure. That is why Admiral Hargun himself is currently overseeing diplomacy between our two power blocs. If all goes well we shall merely allow retribution to be finally and swiftly brought to the genocidal empire of Davia, however if Aura also show themselves to be just as bad, which by the way is a total possibility considering that these 'Andrackan' as we know them destroyed a planet and seem to be very aggressive, then we will act accordingly and condemn their actions regardless of who is on the recieving end of their operations. All we can hope for is that diplomacy pulls through and peace is achieved, we do not know if they have a charter although we are sure their objective is to destroy the Divine Davian Empire to stabilise the western reaches but this remains to be seen. I wont speculate any further until the diplomacy is conducted fully" Sacule curtly replied.
"With that in mind," Celia began, "Not much in the way of AURA standing has been confirmed, with our only insight to their actions and morals being the action at Voi Con. We're still investigating their standing in the galaxy, while the Davians have met sanctions and agreements in response to their offenses. It may prove worthwhile to stand by the saying "Innocent until proven guilty." We will reach out to the press as more information on the bloc is determined, though we also suggest attempting to reach them yourselves; intelligence suggests they are well aware of galactic extranets and use them readily."
"Is there any more questions?" Sacule asked aloud. Murmerings in the room and various people jotting down notes awnsered her.
"Yes I have a question, there have been reports that the Union has deployed a super weapon in Rubikon against Rubikon itself causing intended civilian deaths which are supposedly reaching into the millions. Is this true, and was it a deliberate retributive response to Asuras and Mirach from the Union?" One of the reporters called out.
Sacule shook her head "Such a weapon was used yes, our plasma coil missile. It was deployed in a defensive role to help protect our fleet and destroy critical fleet assets of the APP. The proximity of the planet however meant that one side was heavily irradiated causing many unintended deaths that the Union had no wish to cause but had to out of nessecity for protecting our own military forces. The deaths were unintentional and in no way retribution for Asuras and Mirach, we do not condone the killing of innocents and this event will be looked into. Still however I urge you to look at the strategic destruction and innocent deaths caused by the APP and take into account such when looking in perspective"
There was a bleep on Sacules personal com link.
"Im sorry we are out of time thats all for today" She nodded to the reporters as she turned and nodded to Celia. The two reps leaving the room as the reporters were allowed a few moments before leaving themselves. No doubt today would cause a stir.
Dustin was a junior reporter with the ANC. He'd only just started with the corporation and was still a fresh faced, perhaps naive journalist. But several pieces he'd written in university had achieved some level of success, and with most of the senior reporters busy following Nora on a piece she was writing on the war between the Davians and a new power bloc calling itself AURA it had fallen to Dustin to attend what was expected to be a rather routine gathering of the press corp.
So, Dustin arrived at the gathering alone, with only an autonomous recording unit as an escort, the drone hovering beisde the casually dressed reporter as he took the seat reserved for the ANC and awaited the beginning of the conference
The press conference itself was a fairly large one, it was finally the turn of AGA to respond to growing alegations against it in regards to the situation with AURA as well as the hiring of pirates, and most likely several other events of the war. Reporters and other personel funnelled into the room, the entire event taking place in Pavonis Prime, the various reporters having to go through stringent security to take part. It would be a AGA event however the Union and Carnaith were talking for the entire alliance. Mutterings and the usual rumblings pervaded the large conference room as it was yet to begin, several Union guards stood around the perimeter of the room not visually armed but it was garunteed that they somehow were, the Union were not shying on precuation these days not since the start of the war.
Eventually the doors opened on the other side and surprisingly instead of Admiral Hargun, the female well built form of Fleet captain Zephyr Sacule entered along with the Carnaithian dignitory. She was in full military dress and carried a data slate, two podiums were up front and she took the second one nodding to the Carnaith rep seemingly at some hidden joke made before she had entered the room. She waited for her ally to get ready and for the talking in the room to settle down.
It all began seemingly boring and routine. There were guards, plenty of other reporters, yes, yes, all so very routine... right up until it wasn't.
The sudden appearance of someone other than Admiral Hargun as a Union appointed spokesperson struck Dustin as odd. He tapped his tablet, sending a few short commands to the drone which subsequently snapped a picture of Fleet Captain Sacule and began combing through AncNet for any readily available.
Dustin couldn't help but smirk at the thought this conference could very well be anything but routine
Celia Andronam was the Carnaithian spokesperson for the event; while not one of the high generals, she was still of fairly high significance. Not that anyone but CIGO and Capitol would know that, of course. A few flexi-screen scrolls laid out on the podium in front of her, and she turned to Sacule. Celia had no intention of taking initiative during all of this. The Union also generally had more vested interest in the activities of the AGA as a whole as well; Carnaith was quite independent, despite being one of the senior members of the alliance.
Sacule began to speak as Celia seemed ready.
"Thank you all for coming today, I firstly wish to apologise that Admiral Hargun himself isnt here today conducting this press conference he was called away at the last moment to personally oversee the negotiations between the AGA and AURA over recent events. I will be standing in his place of course and he has left me with the information nessecary. If nobody has any resignations over this we shall begin." She paused for a moment before starting to read, clearly checking an unseen holographic as she went.
"In regards to the actions involving the AGA nations defending the Divine Davian Empire this has been denounced and condemmed by the rest of the AGA and was not in any way a sanctioned and collaborated AGA action on behalf of the power bloc. We condemn the Divine Davian Empire of its very public crimes and incompetance and have ceased all ties to such a nation, despite the events in Voicon and the strange arrival of the A'Zores the AGA and AURA have come to a ceasefire and are now negotiating with both sides eager to find resolution peacefully. The entire situation was a misunderstanding and one that can be easily resolved by diplomacy, we will update you on this progress as it follows" She paused again.
"There have also been strong allegations from both the APP and the Dectrose that the AGA hired pirates to track down the Z1, the BSO to be exact and that they caused an incident in Dectrose space leading to their capture. This I state is true, however I wish to clear up why exactly this took place. The BSO seemed to be one of the more less chaotic privateer forces in the galaxy and with our own forces especially intelligence drawn thinly around the invasions of Rubikon and the attack on the loathesome terror weapon of the Crucible we needed to keep eyes on APP forces in such an area. The original place was for BSO to interdict APP reinforcements, but the presence of the EPA super weapon Z1 its escape had to be tracked, we have reason to believe its power matches that of the Crucible and such a threat to galactic peace and civilian lives cannot be allowed to easily roam the stars. The BSO tracked the weapon to Dectrose space and so the debarcle erupted on the border. The statement is yes the AGA hired privateers to track enemy formations, however the AGA now also has reason to believe that the Dectrose are harbouring an APP weapon of mass destruction, which we condemn to the highest order and ask that they expel its prescence immediately or break negotiated pacts with the AGA" She let that sink in before continuing.
"As for the war the situation continues to fluctuate however we are now pushing back the APP, Rubikon slowly turns ever more in our favour while we destroy the Crucible and bring the terror of system wide destruction to an end. We also have confirmation that the Accordite have left the APP and that another member who will not be named as yet is neogitating with the AGA for a potential withdrawal. With the Eos incident now over we can also conclude that the Eosians have more or less wiped themselves out, the APP is crumbling and it is only a matter of time before stability is brought to the galaxy as a whole. That is the main statement, my friend here can add more, then we shall take questions"
While showing none of it, Celia had wished Sacule had asked for a little bit of rehearsal before stepping out here. She, in turn, looked to the reporters.
"The Voi Con action was, as stated, an action taken by individual nations rather than co-operative force. Several stories were kept separated from the parties involved, causing AGA nations to engage AURA forces in the system under the pretense of defending a commerce nation despite publicized documents denouncing Davian activities. While these exist, it is not against conventions for AGA members to take action and act as a buffer. The problem with the situation, however, was that the AURA side of the story was deflected in favor of a clash," She stated regarding Sacules' first comment, not leaving much time before beginning on the second; Celia had no desire to touch on the Dectrose debacle, seeing as Carnaith had no desire to hire BSO in the first place nor did they care about their mistakes under the alliances' banner. That said...
"I can confirm the statement as to the war effort. However, despite the overall situation leaning in favor of the AGA we cannot ignore the fact that the APP still possess at least one strategic weapon, and that it needs to be hunted down and destroyed before it can make its attack."
"Dustin Savage, ANC," Dustin said once the press gallery was opened to question. His drone rose above the crowd, focusing in on Celia and Sacules as Dustin spoke.
"If I can begin with a quick recap: The Divine Davian Empire has publicly executed their generals on galactic television as a result of incompetency which resulted in several thousand military deaths among an unaffiliated nation, and then started a war with a power bloc that has associated itself with the Ancient Ones, who I will remind you, believe that casually destroying a planet is an appropriate show of force prior to demanding a cease fire, and despite the fact they are supported by four AGA member nations you have chosen to sever all trade, military, and diplomatic ties with them.
"Meanwhile, the Dectrose Empire has, by their own admission, taken an offensive action against the Artificia, an AGA member state, violated a no-fly zone established by the RSC, another AGA member station, and then behaved belligerently with the RSC and other AGA members who arrived resulting in several hundred deaths, and on top of all that has provided sanctuary to a category three superweapon belonging to a major APP power. In response the AGA is only, just now, considering that maybe some treaties will be anulled. Why the massive difference in foreign policy?"
"That recap is correct yes" Sacule replied cooly not rising to take any bait "However there has been no shift in foreign policy. Davia is unilaterally polar opposite to the AGA and we have condemmed the actions of them and their leaders highly, there was seemingly no need for a intervention however as AURA swiftly did it for us, albeit more aggressively and we also condemn the actions of the AO who we have heard of before. However as we said the several AGA factions defending Davia were doing so of their own accord and do not reflect the AGA as a whole. They may have been upholding temporary treaties or defensive pacts which both the Union and Carnaith here have called to be totally annulled following this event as what you say is true Davia does not deserve any protection, quite the opposite and is also why we are seeking a diplomatic resolution one that also holds the AOs actions accountable"
"As for the Dectrose however we have a treaty over the events at Ural one which given the current circumstances has been grossly spat on. For actions against the AU we know that the Dectrose took such, while the AU were not yet a AGA member the close proximity to joining still means that treaties after prevented us from intervening in those affairs. I do state this however as Celia will agree. We call upon the Dectrose to immediately hand over the Z1 or its co-ordinates to the AGA as a matter of galactic security so that many billions of lives shall be spared. If they fail to do this however we will be forced to take action to remove the stain of Z1 from the galaxy whether co-operatively with the Dectrose or without such we would prefer to resolve this without conflict but we will not shy away from the option of it"
Dustin jotted down some notes on the answer. It had been firmer than he had expected given the AGA's decidedly... lax enforcement of policy on the Dectrose in the past. Still, it could all be a show. Time would tell if the AGA was taking a harsher stance or not.
He rose with another question a few minutes later.
"The AGA seems content for the moment to let AURA invade with the Davians but what does the AGA really know about AURA? Do they have a charter? Objectives? How can you be sure you're not allowing the Davians to fall to slavers and dictators?"
"We are not sure. That is why Admiral Hargun himself is currently overseeing diplomacy between our two power blocs. If all goes well we shall merely allow retribution to be finally and swiftly brought to the genocidal empire of Davia, however if Aura also show themselves to be just as bad, which by the way is a total possibility considering that these 'Andrackan' as we know them destroyed a planet and seem to be very aggressive, then we will act accordingly and condemn their actions regardless of who is on the recieving end of their operations. All we can hope for is that diplomacy pulls through and peace is achieved, we do not know if they have a charter although we are sure their objective is to destroy the Divine Davian Empire to stabilise the western reaches but this remains to be seen. I wont speculate any further until the diplomacy is conducted fully" Sacule curtly replied.
"With that in mind," Celia began, "Not much in the way of AURA standing has been confirmed, with our only insight to their actions and morals being the action at Voi Con. We're still investigating their standing in the galaxy, while the Davians have met sanctions and agreements in response to their offenses. It may prove worthwhile to stand by the saying "Innocent until proven guilty." We will reach out to the press as more information on the bloc is determined, though we also suggest attempting to reach them yourselves; intelligence suggests they are well aware of galactic extranets and use them readily."
"Is there any more questions?" Sacule asked aloud. Murmerings in the room and various people jotting down notes awnsered her.
"Yes I have a question, there have been reports that the Union has deployed a super weapon in Rubikon against Rubikon itself causing intended civilian deaths which are supposedly reaching into the millions. Is this true, and was it a deliberate retributive response to Asuras and Mirach from the Union?" One of the reporters called out.
Sacule shook her head "Such a weapon was used yes, our plasma coil missile. It was deployed in a defensive role to help protect our fleet and destroy critical fleet assets of the APP. The proximity of the planet however meant that one side was heavily irradiated causing many unintended deaths that the Union had no wish to cause but had to out of nessecity for protecting our own military forces. The deaths were unintentional and in no way retribution for Asuras and Mirach, we do not condone the killing of innocents and this event will be looked into. Still however I urge you to look at the strategic destruction and innocent deaths caused by the APP and take into account such when looking in perspective"
There was a bleep on Sacules personal com link.
"Im sorry we are out of time thats all for today" She nodded to the reporters as she turned and nodded to Celia. The two reps leaving the room as the reporters were allowed a few moments before leaving themselves. No doubt today would cause a stir.