The disappearance of the Diane-14 had set the Octagon Veranda on fire for the second time in a week. First, it was the loss of the O1129 spacecraft, and now the Diane-14. This was considered a huge failure by the Council, as it marked the first time in over 50 years that two important missions of the Octagon Verenda had failed back-to-back.

Throughout the Octagon Verenda, this became the hot topic of conversation. People were quick to point out flaws and things the Council could have done differently as if they were experts in leading such expeditions. The brunt of the blame fell on Chancellor Jupiter Turko and Chancellor Bell Bostic, as their respective sectors had led the two ill-fated missions.

Some suggested that these failures meant that Chancellors Turko and Bostic no longer had the ability to control their sectors and that they should retire. However, no one seemed to acknowledge the significant contributions these two Chancellors had made to the development of the Octagon Verenda over the past decade.

The funniest part was that none of the people criticizing the Council's actions didn't even know about the importance of the missions, as they were unaware of a word about the soon-to-come activation of the Parasol volcano.

In this charged atmosphere, the Council members gathered in the council room, poring over the reports they had gathered and discussing the data they had already analyzed.

"According to our scientists, it's not a normal weather condition," Jessy said putting a report file on the table.

"We can't say that exactly, I read the complete report given by the environmental science and biology sector. They talk about that hexagonal clouds effect to which I don't completely agree."Madam Browns said thoughtfully.

"Are you denying it completely?" Madam Jessy asked sarcastically.

"Not completely, I think there's some bigger reason behind it," Madam Penny Browns said, explaining her perspective. Although Madam Jessy Turco tried to disagree, Sir Jupiter calmly shut her down.

"I agree with Penny," Jupiter said. "The rate of disappearances has been higher since after 2050, especially after the nuclear bombs."

Bell nodded, agreeing with Jupiter's assessment. "Exactly. Before the nuclear bombs, the rate of disappearances wasn't high enough compared to the navigation rates that crossed the Bermuda Triangle. But after 2050, there was a noticeable rise, according to the old records we have. Particularly after 2060, it's like one ship or a boat or a flybat or a submarine, or even spacecraft disappearing once every year or two."

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"I noticed that too," Madam Blake chimed in. "The statistics show the disappearances have gone higher after 2060, which made me think we can no longer depend on the old resources."

"I agree with Elsa," Jupiter said, shifting to a more comfortable position.

"But the problem is, we don't have much detailed information about the Bermuda Triangle after the nuclear bombs," he continued. "We've done three expeditions to the Bermuda Triangle, and two of them were completely useless. The third one didn't seem to give us much information either."

Jupiter let out a breath, the frustration evident in his voice.

"So what now? Do we give up?" Sir Shallow asked, his voice laced with complaint.

"We never give up," Jupiter responded firmly. "I suggest we redirect all our resources to building a new spacecraft and redoing experiments on the space station-terminus."

"We're running out of time," Madam Evens reminded them.

"So what else do we do? Lead another expedition? That's useless," Jupiter said, disagreeing.

"We can't just ignore the whole thing. People expect an explanation from us, and some have even suggested our retirements," Chancellor Shallow explained, his voice tinged with nervousness.

"Then let's give them some explanation," Jupiter said, lowering his hand from his partially white beard.

"This thing is bigger than the existence of our position in power. It's about the future of humanity. We'll focus on building the new spacecraft, and we'll inform the space station to start redoing those experiments so we can get an idea of whether the station is survivable and what needs to be fixed. We only have 13 months left for everything," Jupiter said, his voice thoughtful.

"What about the kids?" Elsa complained. Bell stared at Jupiter with a disappointed look, guessing what Jupiter was about to say.

"We can't lead another expedition, knowing it's going to give the same results. That will give people more chances to blame us," Jupiter said.

"But we can't leave those kids to die! They are all important figures in their sectors!" Elsa argued.

"Kalvin was there too. Why don't you ask Bell his opinion?" Jupiter said, pointing to Bell, who was deep in thought.

Bell looked at Jupiter, annoyance evident in his eyes, before turning to Elsa with a frustrated expression.

"We can't lead another expedition, knowing it's going to fail too. That will lead people to question our abilities. We can't afford any riot now, as we are running out of time. All we can do is leave our old main mission control system to catch any information or clues about the voyagers. The reason we selected them to be in a team was that we knew they would have to dig their way out of whatever mess they are in now," Bell explained, his voice heavy.

Elsa stared at him, shocked. "So you raised Kalvin to send him to die for your glory?" she complained.

Bell bit his lower lip. "I didn't ask him to go! There's nothing I can do left!" he shouted furiously. Every Chancellor knew that Bell Bostic didn't normally shout like that, and they could imagine how emotional he was.

"Old mission control system?"Elsa questioned.

"Yes we need the new one for space station-related projects" Jupiter explained. Elsa scowled at him as it was his fault.

Elsa stared at him, her eyes whispering, "You could've done better for your child."

"Let's focus on the topic," Madam Evens said, letting out a tired breath, weary of the drama between Bell and Elsa.