Kashan Defence Academy, Kashan
“…It is my pleasure to present the twentieth class of the Kashan Defence Academy.”
Shouts and applause swept through the onlookers as the now former cadets through up their black caps en masse. In one of the amphitheater’s upper galleys, Corise looked down on the mass of men and women clapped with their parents, siblings, other kin, and friends. The Kashan Colonial Band burst into life, suffusing the Battle Hymn of the Confederation throughout the massive building. After heavy introduction by the martial snare drums, booming tympanis, and gallant trumpets, the music slowed down and softened as the ranks of newly graduated cadets and spectators joined in voice with the paced, comradic lyrics of the song. The Commodore ventured a glance down to see the entire ensemble swaying en masse, smiled, and continued to sing. Some things never change, nor should they ever. He slightly shook his head at the thought, catching the Pro-consul’s gaze who also raised an eyebrow. The younger Lucerne shook his head indifferently and continued to sing with the rest of the masses.
“…Unity and Justice and Freedom
For the Confederation;
For these we strive, for these we fight;
With Wisdom, Valour, and Loyalty.
Brotherly with heart and hand.
Unity and justice and freedom
Are the pledge of peace.
Prosper in this fortune's blessing,
Prosper, oh Confederation…”
The Cadets abruptly stopped swaying and raised a fist: “For the Confederation!”
Most of the crowd with continued the official lyrics …
“oh, u-rah-rah so shall we sing,
of the Confederation.”
Song ended and more applause ensued. Corise swept his eyes across amphitheater. Everyone seemed caught up in the moment; parents and friends cheering and shouting praise; cadets clasping hands and in some cases, embracing. The ceremony ended with the graduates breaking ranks to happily storm the spectator stands. Many of the spectators rushed forward to meet the cadets. They were all caught up in the fervor of the moment.
Christina leaned over to whisper in his ear.
“Now that this circus is over, we might be able to make it to the holo-conference.”
Corise merely nodded and rose from his chair. The couple exited their private box, accompanied by their respective sets of bodyguards.
-------------------------------
“…the latest attack from the Empire, if anything, shows the inherent aggressiveness of their personnel. Who else attacks unprovoked?”
Corise leaned back in his chair. “There have been and are others of similar nature; the Vong, the Cree’ar, and criminals and so forth. There are just as many who will attack without legitimate reason as there are those who will leave us alone or even work with us. No, we must expect these attacks to be the rule rather than the exception. I believe the only faction outside of our Coalition that we can trust not to attack us would be our trading partners: the Commonwealth and Stellar Enterprises. Both of them already gain from us in wealth and materials, hence there is no reason for them to attack us at the moment. We have the most to fear from this corrupt Empire that spawned from the Galactic Republic. Their thirst for power and expansionist ideals will likely regularly thrust us into combat. But those ideals that are the embodiment of the Empire can be their downfall, if we take advantage of them.
There are forces that hold people together into a cohesive group. Our biggest theoretical foe up to now, the Black Dragon Empire, was held together by religion in the form of the Heir Raktus’ Theoracy. For the New Galactic Coalition in general, the basis is for independence and individuality; for democracy like the Galactic Republic before it. And because of this individuality and independence, there are variations and diversity within it, from the Azgards to the Gestalt Colonies. By large, another force that holds groups together is economics. One only has to see the success and longevity of Vinda Corp and the rise of Stellar Enterprises to see that. And we, of the Confederation, are mixture of those two ideologies. For both freedom and money holds us together. Obviously, because of our heritage, upbringing, and loyalties, it is easy to see the patriotic side of the Coalition that binds us. But do we see the economics? Every planet within our beloved Confederation supplies something to the rest of us; Metalorn provides vehicles and other manufactured goods and Audacia provides foodstuffs for most of the Confederation and so forth. From this interdependence, strength and unity. Two strands bind us together, instead of the typical one.”
The younger Lucerne took a brief second to grab the bottle of Fallix water at his side, and took a quick sip.
“If we wish to free ourselves from the grip of outsiders, we must know both ourselves and our enemies. Let us begin…”
“…It is my pleasure to present the twentieth class of the Kashan Defence Academy.”
Shouts and applause swept through the onlookers as the now former cadets through up their black caps en masse. In one of the amphitheater’s upper galleys, Corise looked down on the mass of men and women clapped with their parents, siblings, other kin, and friends. The Kashan Colonial Band burst into life, suffusing the Battle Hymn of the Confederation throughout the massive building. After heavy introduction by the martial snare drums, booming tympanis, and gallant trumpets, the music slowed down and softened as the ranks of newly graduated cadets and spectators joined in voice with the paced, comradic lyrics of the song. The Commodore ventured a glance down to see the entire ensemble swaying en masse, smiled, and continued to sing. Some things never change, nor should they ever. He slightly shook his head at the thought, catching the Pro-consul’s gaze who also raised an eyebrow. The younger Lucerne shook his head indifferently and continued to sing with the rest of the masses.
“…Unity and Justice and Freedom
For the Confederation;
For these we strive, for these we fight;
With Wisdom, Valour, and Loyalty.
Brotherly with heart and hand.
Unity and justice and freedom
Are the pledge of peace.
Prosper in this fortune's blessing,
Prosper, oh Confederation…”
The Cadets abruptly stopped swaying and raised a fist: “For the Confederation!”
Most of the crowd with continued the official lyrics …
“oh, u-rah-rah so shall we sing,
of the Confederation.”
Song ended and more applause ensued. Corise swept his eyes across amphitheater. Everyone seemed caught up in the moment; parents and friends cheering and shouting praise; cadets clasping hands and in some cases, embracing. The ceremony ended with the graduates breaking ranks to happily storm the spectator stands. Many of the spectators rushed forward to meet the cadets. They were all caught up in the fervor of the moment.
Christina leaned over to whisper in his ear.
“Now that this circus is over, we might be able to make it to the holo-conference.”
Corise merely nodded and rose from his chair. The couple exited their private box, accompanied by their respective sets of bodyguards.
-------------------------------
“…the latest attack from the Empire, if anything, shows the inherent aggressiveness of their personnel. Who else attacks unprovoked?”
Corise leaned back in his chair. “There have been and are others of similar nature; the Vong, the Cree’ar, and criminals and so forth. There are just as many who will attack without legitimate reason as there are those who will leave us alone or even work with us. No, we must expect these attacks to be the rule rather than the exception. I believe the only faction outside of our Coalition that we can trust not to attack us would be our trading partners: the Commonwealth and Stellar Enterprises. Both of them already gain from us in wealth and materials, hence there is no reason for them to attack us at the moment. We have the most to fear from this corrupt Empire that spawned from the Galactic Republic. Their thirst for power and expansionist ideals will likely regularly thrust us into combat. But those ideals that are the embodiment of the Empire can be their downfall, if we take advantage of them.
There are forces that hold people together into a cohesive group. Our biggest theoretical foe up to now, the Black Dragon Empire, was held together by religion in the form of the Heir Raktus’ Theoracy. For the New Galactic Coalition in general, the basis is for independence and individuality; for democracy like the Galactic Republic before it. And because of this individuality and independence, there are variations and diversity within it, from the Azgards to the Gestalt Colonies. By large, another force that holds groups together is economics. One only has to see the success and longevity of Vinda Corp and the rise of Stellar Enterprises to see that. And we, of the Confederation, are mixture of those two ideologies. For both freedom and money holds us together. Obviously, because of our heritage, upbringing, and loyalties, it is easy to see the patriotic side of the Coalition that binds us. But do we see the economics? Every planet within our beloved Confederation supplies something to the rest of us; Metalorn provides vehicles and other manufactured goods and Audacia provides foodstuffs for most of the Confederation and so forth. From this interdependence, strength and unity. Two strands bind us together, instead of the typical one.”
The younger Lucerne took a brief second to grab the bottle of Fallix water at his side, and took a quick sip.
“If we wish to free ourselves from the grip of outsiders, we must know both ourselves and our enemies. Let us begin…”