Snippet #752067

Archimedes had long ago taken a seat, allowing instead Karl to take his place. The decrepit speaker hobbled his way slowly to the helm of the UCON delegation; a slight roll of murmurs and whispers following him as he first approached the podium and then spoke to the Congress directly. Standing just under 6'2 in his age, his face was sullen with his years and his eyes were drawn back into the confines of his skull; piercing gray eyes clouded from hours and hours of conflict and political mish-mash were flooding across the delegation while his inanely powerful voice boomed overhead through the speaker system.

"Your grievances are felt throughout the Coalition -- from the deserts of Regali and the Rim to AlncFord itself on Scatter. I'm well aware of the trials the Aschen have faced, some of which have been absolutely disregarded by other nations of this realm ... " He continued on, one hand raising to wash over his jowls as he willed his old body to continue on. Somewhere behind him, Archimedes sat alongside Master Sergeant Delico, who still regarded the Aschen delegation with a hard eye and s resentful stare as Felderness continued to speak.

"Their demands are blasphemous, ignorant, if you ask me." Delico relayed; his voice was silent to the others outside of the UCON delegation -- still few even heard him, save for Archimedes himself. He responded with a curt nod in agreement; the evidence against the Aschen was astounding, and how they could demand any sort of retribution for this event was a clear display of their infantile mindset in the universe of politics. A soft grin went across his face slightly, his cognitive mind formulating dozens of his own depictions of the events above Terra. In his minds eye, he could see the dual hammers of the Coalition fleet approaching from opposite, flanking planes on Terra. He was unaware of the procession from the issue of the No-Fly-Zone to the final, climactic end that took so many lives away in a split second. War was not on the UCON agenda, it was hardly on any agenda other than weapons manufacturers and the far right that demanded blood for even a single death.

"My two cents -- they should button up and take their loss, because we could bloody their nose a lot worse if we wanted to." He murmured to him again, the tanned skin of the Zhakistow was contrast to the light olive of Archimedes himself. Having grown up to relatively religious Soruk parents on the temperate plains of Kelga, capital body of the Arhm System, Archimedes was in stark contrast to the Marine beside him.
"I'm sure part of these Aschen's problems is their inability to understand when they're out gunned." Archimedes spat in return, in tune with the reversal of Karl Felderness' speech at a time that could only be explained by Scatterran rationality.

" -- Your request and demands of ... compensation in the face of conflict will most undoubtedly be met with laughs. You fail to recognize that, disregarding the Aschen retreat or not, the fleet was permitted eighteen hours to leave the area of operation. Scrutiny of Aschen FTL technologies put them able to respond to Admiral Savage's mandate in minutes, not hours. " He returned; his aged physique taking on a far more dangerous image as he leaned farther up the podium.
"The losses are regrettable, yet I have to remind you and your commanders that it was you who placed the fleet in orbit above Terra. It was your administration that placed servicemen and women in harms way, with which they paid the ultimate price to your nation for." He placed one defiant hand into the air, the palm outstretched before he resumed.
"Your talk of imperialism is conveniently placed on the Coalition disregarding the Confederate presence that was felt for years on Terra before any Coalition feet ever set down on the neutral planet." He responded harshly, speaking in contrast with the Aschen, and later Tech Con, occupations of Terra on the basis of "national security" before the Coalition had ever became inserted into the fray.
"No disrespect, but it would be wise to stay a tongue that had spoken both truth and lies."

"Honestly, I don't know what they think they've got on us -- or any of us. Ancients only know what the Xindhi think of this whole debacle." The Master Sergeant replied, nodding his head toward the ethereal and exalted Xindhi observing from their own bastion throughout the counsel. Archimedes followed his allies gaze toward those skeletal monstrosities within the Congress.
"No one knows what they think. You know how they are, they sit with their little notepads and jot down the time of day, what they see and what not." He said formerly, averting his gaze back to the speech of Karl Felderness, whom had now taken on a much harsher tone.

"Tempers can rage and flare in this hall, but I for one shall respect it -- your hypocrisy aside, I advise that a vote be cast throughout the entire Congress on regards to UCON compensation for deaths inflicted at the hands of the 6th Fleet and their heroic defense of both Terran and Coalition assets." Karl finished before withdrawing himself from the podium, a roar of claps and cheers following him from the UCON delegation, and several from other counsel members throughout the Congress. Few would realize that he had hardly even addressed the possibility of the well-known Admiral Savage being court-martialed, an insult to some.