08-19-2011, 08:46 AM
Aurelia signaled the Ange Gardien's communications officer to begin recording. She somberly looked at the bridge's camera.
"I greet you, Zoners. The last time I communicated with you in this manner was to be honest about my identity, and deliver my final thoughts and advice on a movement, and ideal, that I became very familiar with over the decade I spent in it."
"Now I contact you in order to bring others to honesty. Something I feel that Sirius, and especially the Zoners, is severely lacking in lately."
She shook her head. "I will not claim innocence in my actions. I have ordered attacks on Zoner ships, as well as an attack on Freeport Ten. Many point to these events as evidence of my vendetta for vengeance, my evil and barbaric ways, my goal of destroying and annihilating the Zoners... Not only are these assertions ludicrous and shameful, but they are also lies fed to the rest of you. Something they will not point out, is that each and every one of these attacks was carried out in retaliation for an earlier attack inside Gallia by Zoner warships seeking to kill me, for doing no more than leaving the Zoners and returning to my homeland."
"Many like to call me a traitor. That I betrayed the Zoners, stole their secrets... I ask you, what vital secrets of the Zoners have become public since my departure? Have others started building their own Jinkusu's? Have the Aquilons become a black market-traded blueprint? Have transcripts of the Zoner Security Council meetings surfaced? None of these has happened. The Zoners don't even know what information I took with me, nor what information I was trying to obtain in my stay in Sirius. It is nothing but a convenient excuse to assault me, to kill me."
A look of disgust crossed her face. "Make no mistake, the Zoners were not betrayed. No. The only thing that was betrayed, was man's pride. A disease that plagues humanity far more than anything I could ever hope to accomplish."
"I've been accused of spying on the Zoners, spying on Freeport Ten, and toppling the Zoner Alliance. While it is flattering that you think I could manage that when I had already returned to Gallia, I can't in good conscious claim to have accomplished that. The failure of the Zoner Alliance was of their own doing, in a manner which I, and many other Zoners, predicted from the start would happen. When an organization is created in such a underhanded and manipulative manner as the Zoner Alliance, there is a certainty that it will fall quickly to its own dirt-smeared hands."
"The Alliance, unlike the Council of Zoners, which existed for years and years with not a single war having been waged, was peppered with conflicts with other groups, and within itself. The Alliance chose its guns above words as its weapon."
"Your leaders tell you to fight. That you must defend yourself against the cruel and oppressive Gallic monarchy. But has their fighting led to your peace, your safety, or your neutrality being respected? It has led to wars upon wars, it has led to the near destruction of Freeport Ten, dozens of your fighter pilots, and two of your colony ships. Not to mention the losses suffered at the hands of others in Sirius. Have the self-proclaimed leaders of the Zoners delivered on their promise of freedom through violence?"
Aurelia spread her hands in an open gesture. "Has Gallia declared any war on the Zoners? Have we called for the Freeports in the Taus to become our property? Has our 'cruel and oppressive Monarchy', supported by the vast majority of Gallic citizens, done any of the crimes we are accused of? Think carefully on this, and see if there is any evidence of the acts your leaders claim we have committed."
Aurelia nodded to the communications officer, at which point he began uploading several data packets into the transmission. "I will give what evidence I hold, freely. I shall not make vague insinuations and bold accusations backed by nothing more than words and rallying war cries."
Original Transmission to the Zoners.
Declassified Report, #32; T.A.Z. Cruiser, IKS-bortaS' attempted assassination of Aurelia DeFrance at Planet Nevers, Burgundy.
Declassified Report, #31; Trespassing of Gallic space by the T.A.Z. again, ship class unidentified, bearing ship name of Rainus Uysison.
Declassified Blackbox Recording; Zoner Defense Force, Zoner Alliance-funded force, bring a Cruiser and Fighter into Dauphine.
Aurelia shrugged. "As you can read and see for yourselves, when I left, I made no threat to attack the Zoners. I had no vendetta or wish for vengeance. All I wished was for the Zoners to leave Gallia alone and respect its policies towards trespassing. And as you can see, that request was spit on. Not only was our sovereign space violated, but it was by warships intent on killing me. We got the words straight from the bortaS' Captain's mouth. He was there to kill me. This was no ignorant exploration, this was no attempt for diplomatic negotiations. It was a blatant attempt on my life for doing nothing more than leaving Sirius."
"What I have sent to you is but a fraction of the incursions into our space. There were dozens of violations, but not all of our scout ships were able to record them and send that evidence. I'm sure the Omicron Supply Industries leader, Victor Cross, won't try to claim he wasn't caught in Dauphine by myself, along with one of their transports. The T.A.Z. were also caught delivering supplies to the rebels in Langudoc, and the Maquis terrorists in Dauphine. Terrorists responsible for far more death and destruction than I am accused of creating."
"You might say, 'But you attacked Freeport Ten! I don't believe anything you say!'" Aurelia shrugged. "You have every right to hold that opinion. But did you know that at the time of the attack, Freeport Ten was the main headquarters for the Omicron Supply Industries, that had just before that been caught violating Gallic space on more than one occasion? There were no innocents on that station. Those that see their leaders make decisions that put their safety in jeopardy and don't speak out against it, are just as guilty for the result as those that pull the trigger. Why do you think I spoke out against the creation of the Zoner Alliance? Because I saw the policies, the mentality, behind the leadership of that organization, and that it would put the safety of all other Zoners in danger. And exactly that happened."
"This guilt continues. The T.A.Z. have put their pride and ego before the future of Freeport Six and its residents. They continue to do so, by appointing an administrator to that station that personally entered Gallic space and attempted to assassinate me. Do you truly believe their actions are the model actions of a Zoner? If so, than the last of the positive aspects of your movement have been swept away in a wave of irrational and baseless hate."
"As I said at the beginning. It is time to demand honesty from those who claim to lead the Zoners. I don't expect you to like me, or believe me. But to blindly follow the words of others without thinking for yourself or seeing the evidence of their claims is a disservice to yourself and all the others your actions endanger."
"When I was a Councilor, the Zoner Defense Force and other volunteers acted to defend other Zoners, and our trade captains were independently-minded people who wished for freedom and to supply the Freeports. But as the Council gradually deteriorated and the three major organizations took charge, more and more of our ships, pilots, and resources were used to aid pirate and terrorist organizations in fighting the houses. And these were not calculated moves to keep attention off ourselves, as is the case with the Outcasts and Corsairs and our supplies to them."
"No, these actions were taken for selfish and dangerous reasons. Reasons of hate and vengeance. Reasons that not only didn't benefit the Zoners, but put them in direct conflicts with the houses and provoked violent responses from them. I trust the events of the Omegas and the fighting with the Bretonian Privateers haven't been forgotten, or worse yet, twisted."
"The Zoners are not vigilantes or terrorists, and those that encourage that behavior shouldn't be tolerated, let alone be held up as rolemodels for the rest of you."
"Ascertain the facts, piece them together, and then find the truth."
The screen blanked.
"I greet you, Zoners. The last time I communicated with you in this manner was to be honest about my identity, and deliver my final thoughts and advice on a movement, and ideal, that I became very familiar with over the decade I spent in it."
"Now I contact you in order to bring others to honesty. Something I feel that Sirius, and especially the Zoners, is severely lacking in lately."
She shook her head. "I will not claim innocence in my actions. I have ordered attacks on Zoner ships, as well as an attack on Freeport Ten. Many point to these events as evidence of my vendetta for vengeance, my evil and barbaric ways, my goal of destroying and annihilating the Zoners... Not only are these assertions ludicrous and shameful, but they are also lies fed to the rest of you. Something they will not point out, is that each and every one of these attacks was carried out in retaliation for an earlier attack inside Gallia by Zoner warships seeking to kill me, for doing no more than leaving the Zoners and returning to my homeland."
"Many like to call me a traitor. That I betrayed the Zoners, stole their secrets... I ask you, what vital secrets of the Zoners have become public since my departure? Have others started building their own Jinkusu's? Have the Aquilons become a black market-traded blueprint? Have transcripts of the Zoner Security Council meetings surfaced? None of these has happened. The Zoners don't even know what information I took with me, nor what information I was trying to obtain in my stay in Sirius. It is nothing but a convenient excuse to assault me, to kill me."
A look of disgust crossed her face. "Make no mistake, the Zoners were not betrayed. No. The only thing that was betrayed, was man's pride. A disease that plagues humanity far more than anything I could ever hope to accomplish."
"I've been accused of spying on the Zoners, spying on Freeport Ten, and toppling the Zoner Alliance. While it is flattering that you think I could manage that when I had already returned to Gallia, I can't in good conscious claim to have accomplished that. The failure of the Zoner Alliance was of their own doing, in a manner which I, and many other Zoners, predicted from the start would happen. When an organization is created in such a underhanded and manipulative manner as the Zoner Alliance, there is a certainty that it will fall quickly to its own dirt-smeared hands."
"The Alliance, unlike the Council of Zoners, which existed for years and years with not a single war having been waged, was peppered with conflicts with other groups, and within itself. The Alliance chose its guns above words as its weapon."
"Your leaders tell you to fight. That you must defend yourself against the cruel and oppressive Gallic monarchy. But has their fighting led to your peace, your safety, or your neutrality being respected? It has led to wars upon wars, it has led to the near destruction of Freeport Ten, dozens of your fighter pilots, and two of your colony ships. Not to mention the losses suffered at the hands of others in Sirius. Have the self-proclaimed leaders of the Zoners delivered on their promise of freedom through violence?"
Aurelia spread her hands in an open gesture. "Has Gallia declared any war on the Zoners? Have we called for the Freeports in the Taus to become our property? Has our 'cruel and oppressive Monarchy', supported by the vast majority of Gallic citizens, done any of the crimes we are accused of? Think carefully on this, and see if there is any evidence of the acts your leaders claim we have committed."
Aurelia nodded to the communications officer, at which point he began uploading several data packets into the transmission. "I will give what evidence I hold, freely. I shall not make vague insinuations and bold accusations backed by nothing more than words and rallying war cries."
Original Transmission to the Zoners.
Declassified Report, #32; T.A.Z. Cruiser, IKS-bortaS' attempted assassination of Aurelia DeFrance at Planet Nevers, Burgundy.
Declassified Report, #31; Trespassing of Gallic space by the T.A.Z. again, ship class unidentified, bearing ship name of Rainus Uysison.
Declassified Blackbox Recording; Zoner Defense Force, Zoner Alliance-funded force, bring a Cruiser and Fighter into Dauphine.
Aurelia shrugged. "As you can read and see for yourselves, when I left, I made no threat to attack the Zoners. I had no vendetta or wish for vengeance. All I wished was for the Zoners to leave Gallia alone and respect its policies towards trespassing. And as you can see, that request was spit on. Not only was our sovereign space violated, but it was by warships intent on killing me. We got the words straight from the bortaS' Captain's mouth. He was there to kill me. This was no ignorant exploration, this was no attempt for diplomatic negotiations. It was a blatant attempt on my life for doing nothing more than leaving Sirius."
"What I have sent to you is but a fraction of the incursions into our space. There were dozens of violations, but not all of our scout ships were able to record them and send that evidence. I'm sure the Omicron Supply Industries leader, Victor Cross, won't try to claim he wasn't caught in Dauphine by myself, along with one of their transports. The T.A.Z. were also caught delivering supplies to the rebels in Langudoc, and the Maquis terrorists in Dauphine. Terrorists responsible for far more death and destruction than I am accused of creating."
"You might say, 'But you attacked Freeport Ten! I don't believe anything you say!'" Aurelia shrugged. "You have every right to hold that opinion. But did you know that at the time of the attack, Freeport Ten was the main headquarters for the Omicron Supply Industries, that had just before that been caught violating Gallic space on more than one occasion? There were no innocents on that station. Those that see their leaders make decisions that put their safety in jeopardy and don't speak out against it, are just as guilty for the result as those that pull the trigger. Why do you think I spoke out against the creation of the Zoner Alliance? Because I saw the policies, the mentality, behind the leadership of that organization, and that it would put the safety of all other Zoners in danger. And exactly that happened."
"This guilt continues. The T.A.Z. have put their pride and ego before the future of Freeport Six and its residents. They continue to do so, by appointing an administrator to that station that personally entered Gallic space and attempted to assassinate me. Do you truly believe their actions are the model actions of a Zoner? If so, than the last of the positive aspects of your movement have been swept away in a wave of irrational and baseless hate."
"As I said at the beginning. It is time to demand honesty from those who claim to lead the Zoners. I don't expect you to like me, or believe me. But to blindly follow the words of others without thinking for yourself or seeing the evidence of their claims is a disservice to yourself and all the others your actions endanger."
"When I was a Councilor, the Zoner Defense Force and other volunteers acted to defend other Zoners, and our trade captains were independently-minded people who wished for freedom and to supply the Freeports. But as the Council gradually deteriorated and the three major organizations took charge, more and more of our ships, pilots, and resources were used to aid pirate and terrorist organizations in fighting the houses. And these were not calculated moves to keep attention off ourselves, as is the case with the Outcasts and Corsairs and our supplies to them."
"No, these actions were taken for selfish and dangerous reasons. Reasons of hate and vengeance. Reasons that not only didn't benefit the Zoners, but put them in direct conflicts with the houses and provoked violent responses from them. I trust the events of the Omegas and the fighting with the Bretonian Privateers haven't been forgotten, or worse yet, twisted."
"The Zoners are not vigilantes or terrorists, and those that encourage that behavior shouldn't be tolerated, let alone be held up as rolemodels for the rest of you."
"Ascertain the facts, piece them together, and then find the truth."
The screen blanked.
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