ONE MONTH AFTER THE INVASION - ALLIANCE SUMMIT - GRAND HALL
"We CANNOT accept this!"
The representative from the Eastern Republic slammed his fist on the table. His face was RED. Furious.
"Your proposal gives TOO much power to the central alliance council! We didn't fight for freedom just to surrender it to ANOTHER authority!"
"We need COORDINATION!" The representative from the Southern Commonwealth shot back. "Seven nations with seven DIFFERENT systems? That's CHAOS! We need unified laws! Unified MILITARY! Unified—"
"TYRANNY!" The Eastern rep stood. "That's what you're describing! Central control! Everything we FOUGHT against!"
"ORDER ISN'T TYRANNY—"
"It IS when it FORCES compliance!"
The summit dissolved into SHOUTING. Again. For the FIFTH time this week.
I rubbed my temples. EXHAUSTED. We'd been negotiating for a MONTH. The Democratic Alliance. Seven nations. All agreeing on PRINCIPLE—democracy good, tyranny bad.
But agreeing on EVERYTHING ELSE? Impossible.
