Fate of Terra - Rise of Empires

Chapter 1.3 - Continuation

~<Meanwhile, at the Central Alliance High Council>~

The emergency convergence of the High Council was just beginning. News had spread quickly about the messenger delivering news of an emergence Stellar Race, appearing from nowhere with a fleet large enough to match at least half the Alliance standing army in numbers.

The council consisted of twelve systems, each represented by an allotted stand in the circular room. Each stand was in fact a booth which held five members, each member being a dignitary or governmental head from each race in the system. The room then held seventy-five lesser council members that governed the smaller districts in the Central Alliance.

The government was forged through fire. The initial four members of the CA were warring Galactic Systems. These minor empires conjoined a ceasefire when the B'Amuf attempted to takeover. The ensuing war had been costly on both sides, and only when minor systems discovered the resistance did the war swing in Alliance favour. This mutual protection formed the chassis for future expansion and the rest is history. The Alliance now held twelve Systems. From these, the most powerful five were represented. These five dignitaries then elected a speaker from their ranks to stand for them in the high council while the other four held advisory roles.

It was, in theory, a beautiful system of democracy. In practice, it was a system bogged down with laws, customs and self-interest as each vied for more power within the council.

"Today, we are gathered-" The keeper of records, a shrunken individual of ancient age began.

"Yes, yes, we understand why we are here. My question to you all is, how reliable is the information?" A Harpeian male interrupted. His vibrant red breast with golden highlights, combined with a rich brown crest was an impressive display of his species.

"You do not have the floor!" Bellowed the Keeper. His voice held the authority of his position. The longest standing member of the Alliance council. "You will hold your peace and wait for your turn or be forcibly removed!"

The room fell silent. Nobody doubted the threat, many a diplomat had felt the cold, unyielding metal of a security bot.

"We are gathered here today to discuss the discovery of an undocumented Stellar Race. According to the report given by Tika Kikoya, Harpeian, System 3, the species is bipedal, was speaking a language so far undocumented yet it is believed they can understand Galactic Standard. The race was discovered as they destroyed a slave auction on a remote station outside Alliance control. Their strength is unknown, but from the report it is believed that the flagship would rival anything the CA could bring to bear. This not with-standing their fleet, which is estimated to number in the thousands, with basic attack craft and short-range swarm craft to inflate this number beyond what which was visible on their approach." The speaker stopped to check his notes before looking back up. "No images of the species remained on record after their disappearance. The reason for this is assumed to be technological, but there is no trace of a system hack, and the footage is pristine and accurate in all other aspects. This Stellar Race is an unknown, and while dangerous, Miss Kikoya's report suggests that they are non-hostile."

With that the Keeper took his seat, opening the floor to questions. Each booth had displays revealing the figures and statistics revealed in the message. The figures were matched with a comparison of their own forces, with expansion for further information if requested. Each race present remained silent, nervousness in some and apprehensive fear in others.

"Why is Standard suspected, not confirmed?" The Speaker for booth five stood to ask before sitting.

"The contact was minimal, as not long after the group entered the auction they began to slaughter its inhabitants. It is conjecture as, before the battle began, Galactic was spoken by the auctioneer before the lead member reacted."