NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: To join the banquet post in this thread http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=474624

Muro Loranac, the King's most trusted worker, stood by at the Spaceport built near Kuron, the neighbour city of the Capital.

Many citizens had gathered around the platform in anticipation of the arrival of their allies. The Kings Guard gathered behind Muro in order to raise the flag and play the Tuborn, the national instrument.

Muro looks up and everything falls silent as a vessel appears in the sky above

An hour had passed since the Taledonian Battle Cruiser Decipher arrived within the system. Since then, the Emperor and his twenty honour guards had boarded the transport and were just now landing at the designated space port. As the doors of the shuttle opened, the honour guards first came out and made a corridor with their bodies, ten on each side, all facing inwards as the Emperor came out and walked down them towards the awaiting crowds.

He had dressed for the occasion, one of the few times he had ever worn the Imperial Armour. The simple yet elogant white cotton tunic with gold embroidery adorned his body, with the breastplate of gold sitting atop it. The equally shiny gold grieves moved with his legs and the Sword of Taledon hung at his side. His brown hair was neat, and his kept beard sat under his aristocratic nose. His blue eyes darted back and forth, taking in every detail of his surroundings. His guards were dressed in the black armour that glowed red, and made them look like daemons, and their energy halberd did the same. Julian stopped at the end of the hallway of guards. He clenched his right hand into a fist, moved it to touch his left breast and then thrust it into the air out infront of him.

"Ave!" he yelled in his deep commanding voice that he used when addressing his soldiers on campaign. And then he waited.

No fancy displays were put on, they didn't know of any that wouldn't give away their nationality, the three men in black suits simply walked out of their shuttle and stopped, waiting for the Talidonian to finish his self glorification before their entrance, which was simple and had no body guards or other people.

The guards stood to attention and the center one raised his flag as the others raised their sabers in a traditional salute.

"Ave your Majesty." Called Muro as he approached the Emperor

His robe, a rich red in colour and embroidered with golden broaches, flowed behind him as he walked. His long curls swayed in the light breeze and the sound of his heavy boots echoed throughout the still silent port.

When he stood two feet from The Emperor he bowed, and said: "I am the Kings Aide, Muro Loronac. The King is awaiting you in the Palace. If you will allow me I will lead you to your Escort."

Two men stepped from behind the guards and bowed. "These are my sons Kar and Wenlor, and they shall be your aides during this banquet."

Muro then noticed the businessmen stepping out from their shuttle, and sent two guards to check their mission.

The guards stood before the men.

"State your business."

Julian nodded and made a half bow, then turned and signaled for only two of his guards to follow him, the rest were to stay with the shuttle. He also notted the other guests who seemed familiar for some reason, but he couldn't place it. Then he turned back around and followed the aid to whatever transportation would take them to the palace. As they walked, Julian muttered his thanks at the offering of the two aids, and then fell silent once again.

Kar and Wenlor followed behind Muro as they walked towards the steps. Kar and Wenlor were dressed in normal clothes, with simple broaches to hold their robes. They stopped beside two large Hoverlimos.

Muro spoke: "These will take us to the palace. If you will please step inside."

Julian nodded as He, his guards, Kar and Wenlor entered the back seats. Muro stepped into the drivers seat and looked back to check everyone was alright before setting off.

As the country zoomed past the window, Muro thought: He was finally helping the King in an important way, he couldn't wait to see the Kings face when they entered.

After about twenty minutes of travelling they stopped, and Muro stepped out to open the door for the Emperor.

As they stepped out the full splendour of the Palace stood before them, as well as several thousand citizens gathered outside the gates. The Palace towered over them, with over 5 stories and around about a kilometre in length. Many balconies jutted out from the hundreds of windows, with one main balcony above the main doors. The sun shone off of the windows as Muro bowed once more.

"This way please."

He opened the gates and stood waiting for the Emperor

Julian stepped through the gates and looked up at the palace. It was about the hight of a regional palace, nothing compared to the Imperial Palace of Taledon, but then they were also a very young race, not like the Empire or the Republic. Turning, he waited for his escorts to lead him inside, and notted the large crowds, looked like a market day on Taledon.

"Our business? We are diplomats of Carthago, here to represent both our nation and our alliance. We didn't see a need for fancy displays, we are who we are." His distaste for how they had been recived didn't show.

Muro noted the Emperors slight look of disappointment, but led them down the long paths down to the Palace, Kar and Wenlor following suit. When they reached the doors the crowds departed and the doors swung open, revealing a large hallway, with many pictures along the walls and several paths and doors off.

"The King is this way."

Muro signalled for them to follow as they walked the full length of the room, and met another pair of large steel doors. Muro typed in a password and the slid open. And everyone in the banquet hall stood to attention and bowed. The room stretched across, almost half the palace, as many of the Kings aides and subjects had joined in.

The King sat at a different table to the rest, one with rich red cloths across the top. Golden cutlery was on the table along with the food. The King sat in a heavily symboled and embroidered throne, with a golden-silver silk cloth dangling down the back of it. The King himself was a man of about 29, with broad shoulders and a long beard, his blonde hair neatly combed under his jewelled crown. He stood about 6" 10, one of the tallest men in his country, and was neither thin nor fat, but was strongly built after years in the civil wars to establish his dynasty as the top.

To his side sat his sister, a woman of 26, wearing a gold and red silk dress, with a few jewels down the side and long blonde hair that reached her shoulders. She stood about 6", but was still considered tall.

To the left of him sat his brother, Prince Makuran, a man of 28, built similarly to King Lukan. But had longer brown, curly hair. He wore a normal robe of red with gold trim, and a basic golden coloured tunic. He stood at around 6" 6.

There were 4 seats across from them, ready for their guests.

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The guards nodded and led the businessmen to the other hoverlimo. They quickly made their way to the Palace, and were led by the same two guards into the Banquet hall, where the Emperor stood next to them, waiting to be seated.

"You're the Taledonian emperor?" one of them asked in an honest, yet disintrested, tone. The other two struck up a conversation on wha a nice place it was and how it would be good to have such a people as members of their alliance as they were culturally sound. They carried on just loud enough for the locals to hear.

Julian didn't wait to be seated, he left the assembled people and walked straight down the line of court peoples who parted as he came, followed closely by his two solem honour guards. His white cape flailed a bit as his pace was fast, but managed to stay close enough to his body. He passed the guest table and walked straight infront of the King, who by Julians guess was almost thirty, infact all around the King were older than him, being only 21 himself, and appeared taller too, as he was but 5'8. Without ceremony, he spoke.

"Greetings, King. I am Emperor Julian of the Taledonian Empire, and a Consul in the Senate of the great Republic. My time is limited, so I would very much wish to get matters of state out of the way before the actual banquet starts. I have come here not just to accept your peace offering, but to offer you the invitation to join our ranks. You are a small nation, one who is weak and could easily be overun, and could use protection and friends. Join us, and you will be treated equal to all the rest of us, even my great Empire, and throught our unique laws you shall be just as powerful as I or even the larger nations such as the Zarithians. I offer this great priviledge to you but once, so I suggest you hold your tongue and think before making any hasty decisions."

Julian eyed the King carefully, intently, the firery passion of the young man burning in his eyes, but the rest of his face stern and placed in a studied effort to maintain proper and official stances, making it nearly impossible to tell anything from his face, while his straight composed posture made him seem dominant-even if it was not his palace and he was talking to the leader of this nation.

The Prince sat up and placed his hand near his left leg.

"Stay your hand Brother." He commanded in a deep and official voice. Makuran's face showed a look of slight anger but he obeyed and his hand returned to the armrest.

"I am happy to see you here Emperor. And I happily accept your offer of joining your ranks. Please call me Lukan, there is no need for politeness at the moment, we are both men of power and authority. Though I don't fully appreciate your tone, I understand your haste. Please sit down."

His hand signalled in front of him.

"So we may get on with our meal. And Muro, get those men over here."

He signalled and Muro talked to the businessmen and directed them to the table as they stood facing Lukan.

the titian and 5 destoryers that had been promised to the develping nation.
1 shuttlecraft was lanched and the dictator and his 2 clone bodygaurds arived at the spaceport.

the crowd did the same thing it did with the earlier arrivals.
"this is a quiet impressive space port for such a young nation."

Damnit! The emperor had just stolen their member. Going to interrupt would be rude, but not doing so may cost them the membership. Quickly, one of the men in suits cheated on the cheater. He was a psyker, able to communicate simply between two minds. The king heard his voice in his head, soothing and trustworthy. In a few short seconds he had heard many words. <Taledonia and their Republic are brutal dictators. Once you have joined, they will rule you and your people with an iron fist. Leaving is not an option. *memories, feelings, ideas, all rushed through his mind and demonstrate the truth.* They enslaved our entire populous when we attempted to secede. *images of the enslavement and war are visible* don’t let it happen to you. We are true protectors of the weak and would love to have you within our covenant. Join us and you shant regret, while joining them will lead your people to ruin. Hurry, turn him down. Make him wait until later, when we have had a chance to talk for real. The Covenant will protect you from them, do not worry.>

An amicable smile formed on Julian's lips as he realised he had just recruited another member to the Republic. All he had to do now was sit down, enjoy a meal and take in the culture. Simple.

"Splendid, my friends!" he made his way back around the guest table and took the middle seat, his guards taking up positions directly behind him, "now may I see a menu?"

the dictator was shocked to see the new nation suckered in by the republic.
"how could the be so foolish, their culture will be destroyed by this evil'republic'." republic my ass

The King clicked his fingers and a servant walked over and handed them all a menu. As Julian observed, the King noticed one of the businessmans voice in his mind. The images were disturbing, and his face went blank, causing Makuran to stare with curiousity. When he clicked back he brought Muro close and told him to give a message to them.

Meet me outside the hall after the banquet and give me further details.

He smiled back at Julian as he was still gazing down the menu.

"I hope you don't mind the regular meats and foods? We have more fancy meals in the kitchen if you so wish."
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More guards led the diplomats to the palace and to the banquet hall, where they were seated to the side of the Emperor.

The Kazecis also took seats at the table. None gave any sign of displeasure toward the Taledonian. One caught the King's eye, giving a signal that it was he who had contacted his mind.

"Oh I should manage. I am a bit of an asthetic, preferring not to indulge in many luxuries, tho my predecesers did excessively, so I must live in their world a bit. Your food should be fine, and could I have a glass of water please?" he said to one of the aids that had been given to him.

He greeted the other guests as they were led to the table and sat down, and finally he answered the man who had asked him something earlier. "Yes, I am the Taledonian Emperor. Have something to tell me?"

the dictator made a speech to the king. the speech start to talk about trade possiblities. it ended with this:
"As a sign of our goodwill, we offer you 5 Ares class destoryers to your navy."

"No, just curious." He then turned from Julius to the King. "Your food will be more than satisfactory. The only way to understand a culture is to see its normal customs, not those modified for our sake. It is rather pretty here, I like it." Another man took the message and nodded thanks.

Lukan nodded to the Dictator

"I thank you for the offer, and happily accept. We are still in the proper construction of our navy, and so gladly additions. Please take a seat and we can talk over this trade proposal."

He turns to Julian

"We shall have the food brought straight away."

Kar heads to the kitchen and fetches a glass of water, and brings it back. King Lukan nods at the man who signalled before many dozens of waiters appeared out of the kitchen and set the food across the tables. 5 set up the food at the Kings Table, and The Prince sat up before tucking in, the same with the Princess.

Lukan then speaks to the businessmen.

"So, you like it here hmm. I thankyou, it took a few years to furnish, and we spent all we thought we could on everything."

Muro then took a seat to the left of the Prince

Muro: "That is true, and to introduce myself fully, I am the Kings Cousin. And I will tend to your every need during your stay."

"First things first, we must get you a stargate for this world. I will glady buy this for you. Stargates have greatly increased our worlds exports and thus increased our economy as well this will help your young nation get off the ground.

King Lukan sat back in his chair, Muro looked on intently, as did Makuran.

"We thankyou again for the offer. And greatly appreciate the aid you are giving. A stargate was among my advisors plans, so the sooner the better."

He laughed heartily very shortly.

"I must protests," said Julian to the Dictators claim, "as a member of the Republic, he is our responsability now, and we are more than able to help increase his trade and advance his nation. With your permission, Your Majesty, I would like to invite you back with me to my capitol of Taledon, so as I can introduce you to some things that you will need to know as a citizen of the Republic."

Marukan and Muro sat straight up in their seats and some of the other guests stopped speaking and observed.

"I will go with you to Taledon. But allow me some time after this banquet to talk with the other guests if you will."

As Julius spoke (when he knew it was safe) the first business man gave a quick warning look at the king. <just stall him, of you accept our offer, we'll keep you safe and under no obligation.>

"Why, I wonder, do you protest to the advancement of a people within your ranks? Their gain would be yours, yet you insist on the control. Why? Do you wish them dependant on you?" Julius was beginning earlier than the other emperors used to, perhaps he was desperate.

Julian turned to the business man, "Why, of course not. However, we are a closely knit alliance, and wish to have all our members loyal to the elected Senate. If we allowed people from different nations that aren't Republican members to give aid, then our members might have sympathy or close feelings for those nations, reducing the loyalty to the Republic as a whole. We are all for the advancement of the nation in question, however we wish to do it ourselves, and can pay for a stargate for them ourselves if they wish for one. Or perhaps they would be interested in our faster than FTL technology, it is quite good,c an get you anywhere you want to go within seconds."

There was something oddly familiar about the business men, they looked so...similar to some he knew well, but he could not place it. Deatharon? No, he had only seen the Antarans in records, not in actuality. Zetans? No, the Zetans were too proud and would have made a big show upon arrival. Chronosians were out, as there was no sign of demonic aspects about them. He began toying with their image in his head, searching for the answer.

Not all Kazecis were of Kazeci birth, especially in the New Dominion. Such were the diplomats chosen for this mission. Living in Kazeci society, however, one cannot help but pick up a trait or two. They could keep it up until the end of the meal. It was probably best not to display their adversarial tendancies, however. "Ah, it's a logical concept."

Lukan to note of what the businessman said.

"I understand your concerns and goals. But I am afraid my full answer will have to be given to you in Taledon, once I have had time to fully think it over. I apologize if this causes any troubles."

He began eating once more.

(OOC: Please refrain from doing anything major, as I must depart. Thanks.)

Hearing these words, the already good food became better. "This is very good food. We're so glad we have had this oppertunaty to enjoy it with you." If you'll excuse me, I'll be headed for the restroom. We'll be back for negotiations in a while." He touched the other two on the sholder and they all left, headed in the direction someone indicated as the restroom.

"Well then," began Julian, "Let us eat, drink and be merry during this festivity that you have thrown, and then we shall be off to Taledonia, where we shall finalise your transition into the Republic! To peace, prosperity and victory gentlemen!" He raised his glass into the air.

The three 'Cathargian' delegates found a nice place on the roof from which they could feel the wind and admire the surroundings. They stayed until they started to see people leaving the hall, and then went down to see if they could find the king and a confidential place.

"NO! I forbid Chan Chubar's entrance to your so called 'repulic'! you have suckered in a helpless(no offence) young nation into place where their culture will be destoryed by your polices!"

"We have never even met in the past, 1101-something or other, so how can you say this? The Republic allows all cultures and peoples to prosper, but we keep them organised, letting order reign throughout the galaxy. We have just guidelines that help keep the peace and all our citizens economies bustling. What do you offer? Three ships and a stargate, where as we offer every ship in our entire alliance, every soldier, every ressource and every coin we have. The Republic has risen again, and it would be wise to be on its side, instead of against it."

"its 5 ships and the service of my military at a moments notice and a stargate.
We would rather die than join you!"

A wry smile formed on Julian's lips, "We'll we never invited you to join us, but Chan Chubar. They have already accepted my invitation for a trip to Taledon, and I expect to make the final arrangements for his induction into the Republic there. Now, since this meal is over, I believe I shall go out and take in a bit of the palace before we depart, as the King wished time to speak with the other guests before our departure. Good evening sir."

And with that he stood up, turned, and marched out of the dining hall, followed by his two guards.

"your ship will be boarded and the king will be placed back at his palace and your ship will be property of my dictatorship.this is for his own good."

Julian stopped, and turned, "Well then, I'm looking forward to seeing how your ship can stand up to mine, and I hope most of your crew are droids, or it could be a very short battle for you." He then kept walking and left the hall.

He walked around the palace, taking random halls and passages, taking in every aspect of the palace. It was nice, wasteful but nice.

The three Kazeci men moven quickly to the 1010102 diplomat. "It wouldn't be smart to lay a hand upon the Taledonians. They are far greater than you in size and number. It would be wise to avoid opposing the powerful Republic. Besides, there is no need for bitterness. This is a tima and place of festivity and new beginnings, not hate." Without awaiting a responce, they turned and approached the King, striking up a harmless conversation about the place's high quality as they lead him away from this public area.

King Lucan was talking to the Businessmen, and gave glances to three people, then to Murakan. All four stood up and followed closely.

"I thank you, we tried our best as I said."

As they walked along he turned to a picture. It showed a man of around 24 sitting on a rearing horse. As lightsabre was in one hand, while the other held a sword. His hair flowed behind him.

"That's my older brother, he died during the civil war."

He gave them more information, until they reach a quiet passage and turns to them.

"Give me the full details of what happened."

"When Kazecistan was a very young nation, as yours is now, it joined the Republic, also a very young alliance at the time. We were practically the first to do so since its founders, Taledonia and Hydrogen-Land."
Another jumped in. "There is no nation 'Carthago', you'll see in a moment why we needed to go under an alias to be here."
The first continued, "All was well and good for a great many years, we often had a seat on the senate and our peoples prospered. Then Taledonia became greedy for power. He had always been, but it was showing it self more and more. After a few disputes and stand-offs, Kazecistan decided it didn't want to remain under his dictatorship. We offered peaceful continuance of relationships and trade if we were allowed to leave, but Taledonia wouldn't let us. He mustered mush of the Republic who were unwilling to fight us (we had many friends, but he still had his thumb on them). With their help, he destroyed every single military vessel and station we owned, burning and enslaving worlds as he went."
At this moment, one of them pulled out a small black orb and squeezed it. It produced very life-like holographic images of the happenings described in their words. "Eventually the entire populous, save a hundred or so individuals, was either dead or enslaved. This over a peaceful secession."
Another took over. "Thankfully, he sold many of our population off to sympathetic nations, who let them free. It is the descendants of these freed slaves that make up the New Dominion of Kazecistan. Our numbers are now over 2 billion, twice what they were when the Old Dominion fell. We have since founded a powerful alliance known as The Covenant. It is greater than the Republic and it is allied with the Alliance of Worlds, a group of former Republic members who revolted and escaped together. The Republic has only the vaguest of notions of the Covenant's existence, if any, and none of the New Dominion's."
"The Republic will oppress you. We will free you. We ask that you join us, as we can protect you, but we do not force you to. If there is a private conference room where we could sit and discuss what membership in the Covenant would mean?"
"We don't mean to rush, if there are any questions or clarification that you need? We'd like for you to know as much as possible before making decisions about the future of your people."

The whole conversation was carried out in low tones and one of the Kazecis held a device that warned them if anyone approached. It was nearly impossible to evesdrop on the conversation.

Lukan looked on in utter disbelief of the events shown and told before him. He looked to his back, where the 4 he summoned earlier were slowly approaching.

"Follow me, there is a soundproof conference room, more of a Council room in a way. I must have Murakan join us if you will allow, he is as close and useful to me as any, so I feel he would need to know such a decision."

Lukan walked off and told the three next to the Prince to stand guard outside, and then brought Murakan with him.

"This way."

The group headed down the halls, with Lukan checking for any sign of movement. Eventually they reached a broad door. Lukan again scanned before typing in a password. The door swung open, and the group rushed in, and the guards put in the lock code. The room had many seats, rectangular in shape, surrounding the center. The room had absolutely no windows, but had a large center light dangling from the center. Many plants surrounded the seats, and a blade sat next to the throne, larger and more deep in colour than the other seats, and Lukan sat in it, Murakan standing next to him.

"Please take a seat."

"Feel free to admit anyone you feel trustworthy to the room." They sat down and settled back, cutting right to business.

"The first thing we want you to know is that if you decide to accept our membership, you will need to reject Taledonia's offer. It would not be wise for you to travel to his capitol after that. Kazecistan is prepared to defend you and force him to leave, we have a few larger ships in the area which could force him to go, but we'd rather not use them. What you would need to do is kindly decline his offer, stating that it is a bit much for your people to be getting into at this early stage. Agree to be friends, and leave open the possibility of joining later, but you 'just aren't ready yet'."

"Now for what we offer. Resources on the Covenant (http://s13.invisionfree.com/Official_Covenant/index.php?act=idx) are available within here (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=459270)."

He briefly spoke with Murakan before turning back to the businessmen.

"First of all, may I please be informed of your names? And second, these offers are all coming out of nowhere, and I will need to mull them over with my council before I make the ultimate decision. It will not take long, and you three will be shown your rooms by the guards outside, only a few hours (RL no time at all lol)."

He then pulled out a communicator.

"Hello.....yes...please send in Korak, Lon and Powran."

"We understand. There is quite a lot to think about and even more at stake for your people. I am Dan Malter."
"I'm Steve Berkly."
"And I'm Sam Marony."
They got up and followed the guards, each bowing their heads to the king as they did so.

After about 3 hours, The King and Murakan exited the conference room, and found Dan, Steve and Sam outside their rooms.

"I have made my decision. And it is to join the Covenant, I do not want to have any violence though after such a brutal civil war, my people mean more to me than anything. So, I will remain friends with Julian though, and request he leaves peacefully. But if any violence should occur, Makuran will step in, along with you and your soldiers. But nothing can exit out of the Palace doors, if my people saw destruction happening already, I will lose favour and look like a war mongerer."

"Nor do we want war for you. The only way your people can remain safe is to keep up positive relations while denieing their membership and above all, not telling them that you have joined us or even know of Kazecistan. Any of the above puts us both in danger. After they leave, please join the Covenant's community with the information provided in this device." They handed him the black ball. "Do you understand why he cannot learn of our identity?"

"Point noted. And I will do so."

He takes the black ball and hands it Makuran.

"Place it in my chambers if you will please."

Makuran heads off into the palace

"Do you wish a further tour, anything else you wish to see?"

"With the seroius buisness out of the way, we would very much like to see the country side. I understand if you have other things you need to attend to, however."

ooc: Join the forums, say hello.

http://s13.invisionfree.com/Official_Covenant/index.php?act=idx

"I'll have the transports ready."

Lukan spoke to a guard behind him, and he headed off into a comm room.

OOC: I'll be off in a couple of mins, so we will have to do this tomorrow, sorry lol.

"i will stand down but i still think that is unwise to join the repubplic."

Lukan got a message from a guard and turned back to the men

"I am sorry, but I must go and see to the Emperor, don't want him getting lost. I will have Muro and Makuran lead you on your tour."

With that he turned and headed down the hall.

Makuran: "This way please."

Makuran lead them out through the doors and down the entrance path, towards the hoverlimos. After around 5 minutes of walking, they reached the transports. Makuran held the door open as the men and Muro entered. He sat up in the front where Lukan sat before.

"Where do you wish to go first?"
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Lukan finds the Emperor sitting on a bench. He walks up to him and sits down next to him.

"I've heard some things about your people, and had my men do some more research on you. They managed to come across a nations decimation by the name of Kazecistan. So much horror was told to me, but I want to hear your side of it, you cannot trust anybody but the performer."

The lead businessman shook his head and thought: You can't trust the perpetrator. All you will receive is lies. And worse yet, you've exposed the possibility of our existence. He's not stupid. We're all damn lucky that Kazecistan sent us. We'll clean up this issue, so long as you don't f*** it up.

Another spoke in response to their guide. "I'm sorry, but perhaps we could cancel this tour. If you don't mind, we'd like to return to our room for a while. We're sorry for any inconvenience."

Lukan finds the Emperor sitting on a bench. He walks up to him and sits down next to him.

"I've heard some things about your people, and had my men do some more research on you. They managed to come across a nations decimation by the name of Kazecistan. So much horror was told to me, but I want to hear your side of it, you cannot trust anybody but the performer."

Julian looked at him a bit astonished, and tempted using chaos to divine the true advocate of this information, but chose not to, wanting to believe this possible new member.

"The Kazeci. Well, I personally wasn't even alive during the period. My father, Emperor Alexander Kellerman was ruling. Though we all respected him, he did gain a sort of infamous reputation within the Republic. He ruled during a time of great chaos for our alliance, and the Republic was falling apart, and he needed to do something or it would be destroyed, and so he declared that any nation that plans to succeed from the Republic would be invaded by the Empire and made to remain within the Republic. One nation threatened to leave, but after hearing the Empire's resolve to invade, they shut their mouths and stayed. But then the Kazeci decided it was time to leave. The Empire had been friendly with the Kazeci people for many many generations, but even with that friendship, my father couldn't just let them go.

How would it look if he made everyone else stay, but the select few he liked could come and go as they pleased? It would give him a reputation of being an un-fair and childish ruler, so he warned the Kazeci that if they did declare independance, he would invade. They chose to ignore such a warning, and Alexander invaded with his legions. It took nearly a month, but the Kazeci homeworld was taken, with minimal Taledonian casulties, but loads of Kazeci ones, as they refused to stay even when being forced. Seeing that even after the invasion the Kazeci could not be left to run their own nation, or the entire thing would happen again, my father looked to his own needs, and saw our dwindling funds, and thus, he enslaved the Kazeci populus, and sold them on the intergalactic market.

Wasn't our finest hour, but the old ways have been put to rest with the new thrivings of the Republic. Just last year I released all Kazeci slaves still within Republican influence and ceeded their old home planet back to them so they could start to rebuild. We may have killed and destroyed many, but if they would have just complied and agreed to peacefully remain within the Republic, none of this would have happened. If you would like, I could bring up some more records for you once we arrive at Taledon?"

Sam took harsh and deep breaths through his nose, attempting to hold back his anger. He's rationalizing the actions of a tyrant. Any who are discontent should have the freedom to leave, especially when leaving poses no loss. We offered the continuance of peace and trade, but the bastards threw a tantrum when we didn't bow to them!

Steve cut into his thoughts. And then he tries to act as if they have changed! Each of their members loses control of 100% of their military assets the second they join! How could anyone secede without a military for protection once they're free? No member could oppose his regime like that-

Dan attempted to sooth them. We'll sort out all of the facts when we next speak to him. Prepare yourself for the possibilities that may occur. If they expose us by invoking our protection, millions of lives are potentially lost and we're going to have an issue on our hands bigger than we can handle.