Snippet #2656195

Karl was pleasantly surprised Sorell mentioned having met Zechariah, more so to hear she gave the soldier her number. Of course, due to receiving the recordings secretly concerning the honor duel before Sorell spoke to her, he figured she and Zecahriah had met. Still, the fact she entrusted the son of the Prime Minister with the information left him feeling quite honored.

He nodded when asked not to tell anyone. "My lips are sealed." He knew what it was like to be scorned for befriending somebody considered an enemy, which he knew would not bode well for the Princess if the Prime Minister caught wind of it. A series of beeps from the desk. "Oh! Parliament's having a meeting! I better go sit down and attend!" He bowed before sitting down at the desk and using holo-particles to surround himself with a view of the whole meeting.

Not surprisingly, Romano Lopez gave a fiery speech condemning the supposed shooting down of Princess Sorell's shuttle by the Benjlakki Armed Forces. No doubt, the prime minister was attempting to exploit the Princess' crash in Benjlakk in order to make the Metargo Kingdom hate the Republic of Benjlakk to the point where diplomacy would be impossible. Romano and Karl both knew that if Parliament could be convinced that President Anderson's promise of reducing military brutality was an empty one, nothing but total and vengeful subjugation by Benjlakki troops could stop Metargo from attempting to do the exact same thing to the Republic.

Karl would have none of it; it showed when he stood up in objection and turned the debate into a contest of evidence. Romano used doctored up versions of the actual recordings, while Karl used the real recordings, including the part where a man in Metargo Naval uniform tampering with the engines prior to hacking the camera that caught him. Obviously, the perpetrator failed to delete the recording. Then, there were the recordings which showed the discussion of terms for the honor duel between Zecahriah Malachi and Aaron Lextu, followed by the actual duel. The only thing that was edited out was the kiss on the Benjlakki mech pilot's cheek by Sorell. From those recordings, there was no indication that the shuttle was shot down, since there were no anti-aircraft weapons in sight.

What was a unified shouting of anti-Benjlakki slogans in outrage turned into confused murmuring. They realized Benjlakk was known for military brutality, yet they were also aware of what could happen if they tried to exact vengeance under accusations that were met with reasonable doubt. Should they risk it, knowing the Benjlakkis would likely see it as a blatant attempt to conquer their lands through the usage of deceit and slander to pull emotional strings? Is it worth invoking Benjlakk's wrath by dishonoring the conditions of the honor duel? In the end, Parliament decided against attacking the forces at the training camp for fear of bringing shame and desolation upon their nation.

Frustrated at his latest attempts at rallying Parliament towards more brutal fighting against Benjlakk, Romano simply glared at Karl. You play a dangerous game, son! Neither of them were stupid: they each knew the other had connections to help him further his own goals.