“The emergency meeting for Nonovber 20th, 2091 is now in session. 309 of 563 are in attendance. Details of all those absent will be present in the logs.” Once the doors closed, the automated voice rang through the Central Peace Representative Session Hall.
“Thank you all for coming,” Marigauld Viscelli, Representative of Regend took the center stand for the very first time in her political career. “I have been asked to fill in as Speaker for today’s meeting. Since it is the day before the election, Representative Hower was unable to attend. Thank you to everyone who could make it on such short notice. I promise this meeting won’t take up much of your time.”
“But we have two items on today’s agenda that could not wait until we reconvene after the holidays. I’m sure many of you were about to leave on your vacations, so I won’t bluster as much as our usual Speaker. For the first item, those of you with keen eyes may have noticed that we have one more desk in here than usual. And if you’re keeping track, there’s only one nation that could be. At last, all nations have come together to form one unified Central Peace. Let’s bring them in.”
One of the doors into the session hall creaked open. After a meeting started, there were only two reasons that someone would be allowed entry. The first was in the case of witness or expert testimony, where the Representatives didn’t want those coming to the stand to observe the rest of their meeting. This was the most common reason. And the second was when introducing a new nation that had joined the Central Peace, just for a bit of a dramatic flair.
Gauld began the introductions as the small envoy entered the room and began walking through the gasping and glaring crowd. “First through the door is Phon Drazah, Representative of Fiendish. Following her is Vice-Representative Tize Scound, Vice-Representative Roque Personson, and Vice-Representative Crucion Wirks. And also in attendance for observation is The Fiendish King, Drim Drazah.”
Though technically not a part of the Central Peace in any official capacity, the highest ranked leader of every member nation was allowed to come and go to CP headquarters whenever they wanted. Additionally, they were allowed to attend any and all otherwise exclusive session meetings as they pleased, and speak on behalf of their nations Reps in their absence. Though most never bothered since it was diplomatic work they could pawn onto someone else.
But Representatives had always been seen as an extension of their rulers, speaking on their behalf and with their authority. Originally, the Central Peace had been envisioned with each monarch, or president, or dictator, coming to the table themselves. But that quickly proved an inefficient experiment because each of them had their own countries to rule and couldn’t make time for the stringent demands of a unified government.
Though perhaps to everyone’s surprise, The Fiendish King and his retainers sat down quietly at their assigned desk after unfurling the flag that had been pre-prepared for them. “I have been informed by our new colleagues that they have no opening remarks, nor issues they wish to bring forth. So that ends the first item on our agenda. I told you this would be quick.”
“Moving along, the second item is an indictment presented by—oh would you look at that. What are the odds—Vice-Representative of Regend, Callum Briz.” Marigauld Viscelli eagerly vacated the podium, smiling at her young protege that she passed on the way back to her desk.
“Thank you,” Callum gave the expected courtesy as he first approached the mic. “I apologize in advance for bringing what will be a controversial discussion to session. Please bear with me and hear what I have to say. My intention today is to bring to light a heinous criminal that had eluded justice for far too long.”
“I, with my authority as a Vice-Representative of the Central Peace, and acting on behalf of the judicial branch of Regend, stand before you today to press formal charges against Gort Hower, Representative of Horage.”
That one sentence was all it took to turn the relatively peaceful session hall into a madhouse. Grumblings, shoutings, swears and accusations all flew around the room. Many were aimed right at Callum, but he stood strong, prepared for the blunt criticism he knew that he was setting himself up for.
One voice, however, cut above all the rest. ❝Until he finishes speaking, there will be absolute silence.❞ Those few words from The Fiendish King instantly calmed the crowd—robbed of their free will to defy him. The room became deathly quiet. Not a single further word was uttered out of turn. Each Rep became stiff in their seats, not daring to shuffle or squeak. Even their breathing became stifled to the point of silence.
Callum sent a nod of thanks in Drim’s direction and carried on. “As I bring forth each charge, you will find new and irrefutable evidence displayed on your screens that will prove Hower’s guilt beyond reason. After presenting the initial list, I will go into more depth on each one.”
“First is Bastion, more specifically, the bounty that spurred what is now commonly known as The Bastion Genocide. Hower was the mastermind behind the whole thing, using a series of manipulated accounts to amass and move the money secretly. The vast wealth was mostly acquired by siphoning taxes and donations worldwide through the assistance of his many accomplices, some of which are in this very room. But he also had a number of profitable criminal dealings he used to bolster his finances behind the scenes. We’ll get to them.”
“In addition, Hower was behind the development and illegal injection of devices known as gizmicros into soldiers from almost every nation that participated in Bastion. These small machines hampered the cognitive abilities of our soldiers, lapsing their better judgment, and ultimately led to mass casualties that would have been avoided if our soldiers had proper control over their mental faculties.”
“Hower also has a deep rooted history of enabling illegal experimentation. He was the primary financier and director of the Lesser and Fiend testing facility known colloquially as The Power Station, where dozens of innocents were held against their will and subject to torturous testing. And not only that, he has ties to underground labs across the world that delved into both human and monster experimentation.”
“In an effort to keep his interests safe and secret, Hower enlisted hundreds of mercenary groups, including the infamous and highly criminal Red Eyes Gang, to serve as his own private army. He additionally forced the Fiend, Krayat Drazah, known more commonly The Beguiling Burglar, into a contract against using blackmail where he used her thieving aptitude to commit burglaries across the continent that served his interests, including the robbery of the nation of Fiendish.”
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“He is culpable in the rebel attack on the island nation of Archlave. Leasing the monster and Fiend, Ten Tackles, from one of his many experimental laboratories to those who sought to destroy their own country. “
“But his worst offense in this regard would have to be Humanity. Once again, he served as the primary financier, along with posting confidants in key positions in the organization to provide logistical support so that they could expand their operation and avoid confrontation with local law enforcement. Not only that, he purposely dismissed discussion and swayed legislation here at the Central Peace so that no definitive actions would be taken against them.”
“The others you might understand, but I’m sure for this instance you’re all asking, ‘To what end?’ The answer to that is chaos. Hower purposely intended to sow chaos and tension between the races so that he could sell the solution, a unified world under his rule where likes of Humanity would never exist again. It was all a ploy to boost his favorability in the upcoming election, as you’ll find was the ultimate goal of many of his schemes.”
“During the tournament at Fiendish Coliseum, it was Hower who ordered Central Peace Captain, Jaid Luciri to alter her wish to that of imprisoning the Greater Fiends. This was in spite of the vote beforehand to make the wish of all CP operatives to be ‘Forcing Fiendish to join the Central Peace.’ I’m sure that caught a lot of you off-guard. While this was not an illegal act, nor a charge I am bringing against him, I hope it serves as a window into his ambition.”
“But this only highlights the highest profile incidents that he’s been a part of. Hower has a full and lengthy career as a politician, all of which has been underlined by over a decade of heinous offenses the likes of which this world has never seen. I will now begin.”
Callum then led the group through an exhaustive list of crimes. If one existed, odds were that Hower had committed it. Hell, the young man could have merely been reading straight from a lawbook list, and only a few wouldn’t apply. Coercion, voter fraud, election interference, intimidation, bribery, assassination just to name a few. He’d even gone so far as to throw his own Vice-Rep under the bus to further allay suspicion who was then subsequently murdered by two Fiends from Above.
“And lastly, treason!” Callum finally reached the end of his long list of charges. “In late 2076, at the tail-end of the Drazah War, Gort Hower conspired to circumvent the acting prime minister of Horage. The nation’s stance was to fight for their freedom, but Hower planned to directly hand the nation over to Eleen Drazah in the hopes of winning a favorable position in her empire.”
“His scheme was thwarted only by the Cosmic Boon and the deaths of the Drazahs. Had it not occurred, he had already requested an audience with them the very next day. With that, we have reached the end of the list, and now I will get into the gritty details of each of them.”
Vice-Rep Callum kept his promise, not letting a single piece of information or nuance go unsaid. The hours ticked away as he elaborated on every single charge until there was no more room for doubt, utilizing the vast cacophony of evidence that had been ‘anonymously delivered’ right to him. If it was just a few pieces, their authenticity could come into question, but the sheer volume, cohesion, and factual nature of it all made it irrefutable.
For those who had spent the past year of their lives collecting said evidence, it was immensely satisfying to watch the reactions of the Representatives forced to sit through it all. What started as annoyance, disbelief, and outright stubbornness was quickly shattered as what they thought was some political farce to disrupt the election turned to undeniable truth right before their eyes.
A good chunk began to rally behind the idea, the veil lifted from their eyes. Likely, they’d known something was wrong all along, or too believed there had to be some grandmaster behind the scenes pulling every string. And now that they had definitive proof, they could finally justify their own past ideas.
Others fell into despair for two primary reasons. The first was due to the realization that they had been deceived for as long as they could remember. If Hower, someone they all respected, a true pillar of the politics they knew and practiced, was so corrupt, then what did it mean for the very nature of the Central Peace.
The other reason were those who had been found culpable, directly named by Callum as conspirators and accomplices, and then found eyes burning into the back of their heads from the Reps around the room. Most of Hower’s inner circle wasn’t present, though, off with the man himself to prepare for the election. Fortunately, that meant the most zealous of his followers, who wouldn’t have taken the accusations very well, weren’t in attendance to disrupt the meeting. While none could speak due to Drim’s order, there were other drastic actions that could have been taken.
And there were a few more who were just generally distraught by the length of the whole ordeal. Gauld’s promise of a short meeting had been a bold-faced lie and had failed to come to fruition. Throughout the entire process, there had been no recesses, no bathroom breaks, no food. Just words and raw emotion. Fortunately, the Reps were used to tortuously long sessions, but some of them might not hold out for much longer.
Callum’s speech did finally come to an end, and he left it off with one last notion. “That is everything I have to share. Not every suspected crime is included in this indictment, only those with sufficient enough evidence that they can’t be refuted. Don’t be surprised if more comes out in the near future. The floodgates have been opened as they say.”
“As I’ve indicated, I will be pressing formal charges against Gort Hower. Not just here, at the Central Peace, but at the highest courts of both Regend and Horage. And not only them, but at every nation, country, district, or territory that have been involved in his crimes. Additionally, I will be reaching out to any individuals directly affected by Hower and encourage them to file against him as well.”
“But don’t get me wrong. This is not a form of election interference. Out of courtesy to due process of our democracy, I will only be coming forward with this to the public prosecutors and courts in the days following the election. Take this as a warning.”
“If you want the Central Peace to be in control of the narrative, to not be seen as the fools that Hower has made of all of us, this is your only chance to act. I dearly hope that we as a council, as a unified world for the first time in history, can come to an appropriate course of action that will not allow for the death of justice. Thank you.”
Finally at the end, after being on his feet for hours, Callum stepped down from the stand. But he didn’t vacate the room, and instead took a seat back down at his desk. For the session wasn’t over, and it wouldn’t be until the interim speaker, Marigauld Viscelli, called it to a close. But she would refuse to do so, going against the unofficial courtesies of the session rules until they came up with a plan of what they were going to do. One way or another, the Central Peace would take action that day.
But those at the Fiendish desk had seen enough, content with what they’d witnessed. All five of them stood up from their seats and walked out of the room, taking their voting power with them. That was the rule. If someone wasn’t present, then they weren’t allowed to vote on anything either—incentive for the Reps to actually show up and do their jobs.
And the truth was: they didn’t want to be involved. They’d done their due diligence, and it was now up to the rest of the world to hold their own accountable and see justice through. Those still sitting had a million words to sift through, but would soon forget a little whisper from Victori, encouraging them to abandon any selfish reasonings or past alliances and to do the right thing.
The day wasn’t quite at an end, however, as much as the group would like to head home and prepare themselves for an entirely different threat tomorrow. Someone was waiting for them just outside the doors. “Fiendish King,” The Warden stepped forward to intercept the party. “A moment of your time. I believe there is something you need to see.”