I see that Time's the king of men,
For he's their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave. - Pericles, Prince of Tyre (Play by Shakespear)
6 Hours Prior
[Ch'Rihan, I'Ramnau, Senate Chambers]
Dawn was settling in on Ch'Rihan's Capital- shades of burning orange rippled through cracks in the ceiling curtains dotting the emerald marble of the chamber's center floor in the shape of twisted bars. Senator Nesia t'Vaien held the right of speech and she paced from one edge of the podium to the other while waving her hands into the air for added emphasis "the alliance between us and the lloann'mhrahel [Federation] has continued for long enough! Our resources are being drained by our continual aid to them. Our focus should be our people and not those within the lloann'mhrahel. How much longer must we help our enemy rebuild? The lloann'mhrahel has never been a friend to us, in fact" she held up a news reader "members of their government do not trust us- after everything they have been given they still have the audacity to insult us! We should have never let this one sided alliance continue after the Dominion was defeated. It is time to end the alliance and move forward with an agenda that favor our people."
"And what agenda is that?" Every eye in the chamber turned to look at the ancient and frail figure of Praetor tr'AAnikh. He stood in the side entrance; the archway was lit by two torches on either side of the wall causing flickers of orange to highlight his withered face. His eyes narrowed in Vaein's direction and slowly, using his cane as the main support, he made his way down the chamber's marbled steps towards the speaking podium. Behind him were several Praetors, the Proconsul, and the Galae'Enriov. When he finally reached the floor AAnikh lifted his cane and pointed it at Vaein in an accusatory manner "an agenda that favors our people? By that you mean more wars and more useless death? To what end? To protect an honor most here have long forgotten- tending past grudges is your main motivation, not the welfare of our people." He lowered the cane and slammed it into floor "it is long past time that this body move forward from the discussions of the alliance and proceed to discuss matters that are truly relevant."
Vaein was fuming at the interruption but she remained composed in spite of it "should we sit here and listen to a senile old fool?" Her eyes locked on AAnikh "one whose death grows nearer with each day he wakes- it is no secret that you are ill Praetor. When you are gone how many will continue this endeavor? It is a hopeless agenda."
"It is my agenda none-the-less." AAnikh said "you have wasted enough time." He tossed a look to the Senate speaker "Lady Charvanek- should any Senator bring up a vote on the issue of the alliance again they will be arrested for treason." There was loud commotion in the Senate chamber as several senators stood up and began swearing at the floor. However, they were quickly silenced when dozens of Gai'Shian [Romulan Marines] stormed into the complex "I have been too lenient and now the discord has grown to a point where governance is impossible. No longer will I allow these childish antics to continue. The vote has been taken and decided. No more of this nonsense." AAnikh twisted around slowly and made his way back up the steps followed by his entourage.
Present…
[Ch'Rihan, Ki'Bahrytyhn]
"The Senate has voted on the proposed budget amendments. It was a difficult matter but the Senate has agreed to cut spending on vessel production by 45%. Now that over 70% of the fleet has been upgraded and our losses in recent conflicts have been replenished the Senate has decide to reallocate funds to repair weakening infrastructure in Empire." Tr'Jaeie announced and then took his seat among the other Praetors.
AAnikh watched the display but his attention was focused on his thoughts. It was certainly a triumph to allocate the spending away from the military. The hawks in the Senate were decrying the move as 'weakening' the Empire but AAnikh knew better. For the past half decade they had allocated many of their primary resources to vessel advancement and production and now that the majority of the fleet had been upgraded and replaced it was time to focus on more domestic issues. The hawks also decried the alliance repeatedly and had attempted to stall senate proceedings by continually requesting votes on the matter- they would have certainly loved a war with the Federation but such a thing was impossible. The Galae was already too entrenched in the Lyran Empire in support of the new Lyran Empress- for all intents and purposes the Lyran Star Empire was now just a puppet state.
One of the Praetorial errand boys entered the chamber and fell to his knees "Praetor, EnRiov Rezek tr'Thrai has arrived."
"Send him in." AAnikh ordered.
Rezek tr'Thrai was a decorated military officer who had risen from the ranks in a short amount of time through both tenacity and strategic brilliance. The latter of which was probably inherited from his first commander- the now exiled Ael'Riov, Shiarrael t'Rehu. His face was soft and his hair was not set in the standard military cut but rather a more fiery and cropped look, all the captivating because his hair was a bright shade of reddish-orange, and his eyes and opaque grey. Rezek bowed deeply before speaking "greeting Lord Praetor, Praetors. I am here to report on matters of the Lyran Empire. We have continued our search for survivors of the former Lyran noble family. The Tal'Diann has found seven more- they were swiftly captured and discarded with the utmost discretion. More and more of the renegade Lyran forces are being subdued while others have decided to join the new Empress. However, with this instability the Lyran Empress is concerned that the Kzinthi will take advantage and she has humbly requests that they be declared a protectorate state."
Praetor t'Na'Lora stood up "forgive my insolence Lord Praetor, however, we have gone great lengths to publically deny accusations that we have all but subverted the Lyran Empire. Should we grant them status as protectorate it will undue all that effort and no doubt further strain an already tenuous relationship with the lloann'mhrahel."
"I agree." Tr'Krotash said from his seat. "The Lyran Empress should be grateful that we are aiding her at all."
"You are both being to mindful of the lloann'mhrahel. Granting the Lyrans the status of protectorate will only confirm what most outside the Empire already believe. It will end the political curiosity of the lloann'mhrahel whose constantly ask questions about our relationship with the Lyrans." T'Marus spoke up from her seat.
Another started to speak but AAnikh lifted his hand silencing them "I agree with Marus, it will be best to confirm our position on the matter. The Lyran Empire will be officially declared under Romulan Protection. This should deter any Kzinthi. Announce this to Ambassador Larin Po so that he may repo-" AAnikh stopped speaking. His mouth hung open but words failed to come. Slowly his limbs fell numb and he went limp in his chair.
Noticing something awry Na'Lora lept out of her seat and ran to him. "Praetor!" She shouted but he remained still "someone get the doctor!"
Rezek rushed up along with several others as more ran out of the chamber to get medical personnel. "He has a pulse but is it weak." Rezek said. The Praetor's guards rushed the room along with several medical personnel who cleared the other Praetors away. "Give us room!" They demanded.
Elsewhere…
[Ra'tleihfi, Proconsul's Residence]
Lord Tal tr'Riuurren sat silently on his knees in deep meditation. He could hear the loud boot steps on the wooden floors of his estate but he ignored them. Like a rush of an avalanche they trampled through and then stormed into his room "Proconsul the Praetor has collapsed!" The lead officer who was also the liveliest of the guests announced.
Riuurren didn't respond- instead he remained in his meditative state. Clearly flustered, the military officer started to take a step forward but stopped when he felt an awkward breeze hit him. His eyes studied the shirtless Riuurren whose hand now rested against the hilt of his blade "do not move an inch or I will kill you for disturbing me without manners." The Proconsul stated flatly. The man bowed and took a step back.
"Forgive my intrusion." He bowed again.
"That is better." Riuurren stood up and sheathed his Kaleh, however, his eyes remained closed. In the corner of the room a soft white creature yawned and then stood up looking between Proconsul and the unwanted guest. With a gruff snarl at the guest he pranced over to the Proconsul and crawled up an extended arm. To the disbelief of those present the pure white hnoiyika* wrapped itself around the Proconsul's neck and quietly returned to its slumber. "See to it that news of this incident does not spill to the Senate. If it does then those responsible will themselves shortly dead. Now leave my property before my forgiveness for your rudeness evaporates." The men bowed and quickly left.
[End]
Hnoiyika - a weasel-like vicious predator. Can grow to 4 ft in length from head to tail.
