[center][h2][b][u]Tayter, Cormyral System, Cormyrean Confederation[/u][/b][/h2][/center]

Fayyer gave his staffer a long hard look as the younger nalloth approached, his eyes kept close to the side of his head. That was not exactly a good sign. “Kus” Fayyer let out a long whistle, “please tell me you have something on the Eiclens. Anything.”

For his part the staffer named Kus didn’t quite shy away as he grunted a negative response. “My apologies senator, but they have been doing an excellent job covering their tracks.” He handed Fayyer a folder containing intelligence reports and analysis from a number of political and military experts. “We have managed to track a number of their aerospace forces as they shifted them around, but any troop maneuvering we’ve spotted can be explained as routine exercises.”

Fayyer cursed loudly as he dropped the folder onto a nearby table, not bothering to look at its contents. “The senate is meeting with the Tribune in twenty minutes and I’ve got nothing to prove that the Eiclens are preparing to rebel again.”

“It wasn’t really a-“ Kus began only to find himself cut off by Fayyer’s shrill whistle.

“Sure we call it the Eiclen Revolt” Fayyer’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “But it was a rebellion. Albeit a poorly planned one.  We simply called it a revolt because it was convenient, as if doing so somehow changed the fact. And so instead of dealing with the problem we simply set it aside and will continue to do so until it gets so bad we can no longer ignore it.”

He let out a long sigh before saying “I suppose we’ll just have to bid our time as well and let the OSI do its job. The Eiclens will eventually show their hand, let’s just hope that they do so before they are ready.” He let out a long sigh before adding “Now I must leave. We might not be able to deal with the Eiclens, but there is still some progress to be made on a number of other matters.

[center][b]*****     *****     *****[/b][/center]

“The senator from Atrya has the floor” A disembodied voice said as Senator Fayyer rose to his feet. Atrya was one of many countries that made up the Confederation, but Atrya was special. Historically it had been the hegemonic power of the Nalloth homeworld for centuries and even after losing that special title was still a member of the Big Five of the Confederation. It was no surprise then that Atrya remained one of the most powerful and influential components of the Confederation. When the Atryan president or senator spoke the Confederation listened.

“Brothers and sisters” Fayyer whistled, his voice magnified so that all present could hear him speak. “In the not too distant past the Xim launched a war of extermination against a small country called Solaran Federation. Too embroiled with the Eiclen Revolts” He seemed to spit out that last part, “we failed to come to their aid. Even so the Solaran Federation fought valiantly and obtained peace, but at a steep price. When we brought the revolts to an end we failed to offer the Solaran Federation a hand of friendship and have continued to fail in our duties to our younger brothers and sisters. I move that we send a diplomatic mission to the Solaran Federation immediately with the intent to establish permanent diplomatic relations. I also would like to pursue treaties with the Solarans and other nearby civilizations with the intent to provide mutual defense against the Xim. The Xim need to be contained and I believe that the Solaran Federation will prove to be the cornerstone of the alliance necessary to do so. Thank you.” He turned his gaze to the Tribune as he ended his speak.

“Thank you Senator” Tribune Zius inclined his head towards Fayyer. “I believe you are correct. Senator Fayyer, would you care for the honor of leading the diplomatic mission to the Solaran Federation?”

“I would Tribune.”

“Very well then.” Tribune Zius paused for a moment before continuing. “You have a week to prepare.”

[center][h2][b][u]Kasius System, Solaran Federation[/u][/b][/h2][/center]

The light cruiser [i]Argent[/i], carrying Senator Fayyer and the Confederate diplomatic team, dropped out of warp on the very edge of the Kasius system and Solaran space. The heavy cruiser [i]Warrior[/i] had accompanied [i]Argent[/i] into the system as an escort, but it remained at the edge of the system as the light cruiser began to head into Solaran territory, all the while broadcasting that it was carrying a diplomatic mission and requesting an escort. Both ships had their weapons powered down.

On the few occasions that the Cormyrean Confederation had sought previously deployed diplomatic missions to the Federation they had been conducted in a similar fashion. The diplomatic team was always deployed on a destroyer or light cruiser and they were always escorted by a heavy cruiser. If there was anything apparently special about this particular diplomatic mission it would be the fact that [i]Argent[/i]’s broadcasts implied that a high ranking official was present.