Capital city on planet Machinae One, February of 8096 After Liberation (AL).
"Welcome to Stellar News Broadcast, I'm Alec Ghianni and here with me today is reporter Diane Allers," the news anchor was an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and a well-trimmed beard of the same seasoning. He smoothed the front of his suit as he picked up a steaming coffee mug off the table between them, "She's here to discuss the treaty signing yesterday and what exactly it means for the Empire. Care to take it from here, Diane?"
"Absolutely, Alec." Sitting across from him was a much younger woman with raven black hair and sparkling blue eyes. She crossed her legs and perched her hands on her knee, looking exceptionally professional in a blue and white striped cocktail dress. "Yesterday afternoon our government's leaders met with the hierarchy of the Stonehaaryn Corporate Coalition to sign the second copy of a treaty that will dissolve the SCC and officially end the Colonial War between the Stonehaaryns and the Machinae Empire."
"Who all was in attendance, Diane?" Alec sipped his coffee slowly, deeply enjoying the sharpness of the espresso. He chuckled to himself almost imperceptibly as he noticed the drink was the exact shade of his own skin.
"The Ministers of the Machinae Senate, President Zegana Ali of the Senate, the majority of the Jarlty and our Royal High King Salem Grey represented the Machinae Empire during the signing at the Castle of Glass," Diane paused for a moment to compose her thoughts, "The SCC was represented by the chairmen of each corporation in the Coalition as well as their president, Seth Desriel. The Brixstraton Order sent several of their ranking members to oversee the signing as an unbiased third party, their representatives included the High Priest of the Order, Samayel Coothra, and several of his retainers."
"What exactly does this treaty mean for the Empire, Diane?" Alec asked, setting his mug down on the coffee table.
"That's a simple question with a complex answer, Alec, but I'll try to break it down as much as I can," Diane chuckled softly, somehow managing to make it a graceful motion. "The treaty will dissolve the SCC, and once ratified it will make all Stonehaaryn colonies a part of the Machinae Empire. Our government will be assuming control of all property publicly owned by the Coalition, every Stonehaaryn citizen will be granted Machinae citizenship with all its perks and privileges. They'll be subject to the mandatory enlistment protocol and the Stonehaaryn military will be enlisted into the UCAM over the course of several years. Senators will be elected to our government by the citizens of current Stonehaaryn colonies to represent each planet formerly under SCC control, and a Jarl will be appointed to each star system in command of the Stonehaaryn fleets that aren't privately owned. They'll essentially be absorbed into our Empire, the higher-ups in our respective governments have been referring to this merger as the Imperial Union."
"Now, it's my understanding that the SCC was all but forced into this agreement," Alec held up a finger pointedly, "Our fleets had them cornered, Machinae flags flew over every Stonehaaryn system but Garnavaan and Pyrotus. It was less of a negotiation and more of a hostage situation."
"You're not wrong, Alec," Diane admitted, "The High King attempted peace talks six centuries ago, just before the Athena bombings. He barely managed to convince the Jarls to hold fire before the gas attacks on Athena. After the attacks the Jarls were baying for blood; there's a common misconception that the entire SCC was responsible for the attacks, but in reality they were carried out by a privately owned fleet under the command of Clades Corporation. The chairman of Clades at the time was an extremist, he refused to surrender; the war had made Clades too much money, so he conspired to sabotage the negotiations and use chemical weapons against our colonies. Millions were killed in the attack, and the Jarls wanted revenge. The older generation among the Jarls are sometimes considered extremists in their own right, they're not fans of the saying 'an eye for an eye,' they believe something more along the lines of 'an eye for your sister.' The High King was forced to glass several colonies in the Pyrotus system to appease the Jarls; they'd have seen the Stonehaaryns exterminated before they agreed to allow them to surrender, and to continue to push for negotiations would have lost him the vital support he needed."
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The Grey Chronicles Part One: New Declaration of An Old War
Science FictionSalem Grey has finally negotiated a peace treaty between the Machinae, a war born culture descended from the remnants of the human race, and the Stonehaaryn Coalition, an alien race with blue skin and pointed ears. Both factions were formerly enslav...
