Legacy of the Void Fleet-Chapter 344: Ch

The five leaders shook their heads as if to say, Oh well, let them have this much glory for now. It won’t be theirs for long.

Pulling their thoughts away from the throne of federation president , they solemnly took their seats. Following them were the other three hundred or so members, who took their places as well.

Some were calm, others were sweating profusely, while a few genuinely carried an air of arrogance—as if they detested whatever was happening and why they had been called there.

Others were looking forward to this "session," though not for good reasons; they had their own agendas to fulfill.

The air around the grand pavilion of the Supreme Parliament of the Earth Federation was thick with a brief, heavy silence.

"Dear Domain Governors and other guests of this council, we are gathered here—" Maximus Maruya began from his seat. He looked down at the Domain Governors below, who were staring back at him.

He nodded to them before glancing once at the other non-members present.

He snapped his fingers. Suddenly, several large holographic screens appeared in the well of the hall, while hundreds of smaller ones flickered to life right in front of the members.

On the screens, countless digital exchanges and memes surrounding the Void Fleet were floating, each more over-the-top than the last.

"Because of what is now in front of your eyes," Maximus continued, his voice echoing, "certain sections of the people are misusing their right to freedom of expression. They are creating chaos throughout the net based on baseless and irrelevant points."

"They are bluntly targeting our great partners—partners with whom we have negotiated and from whom we have gained so much, from high-level technologies to Gene Advancement Serums. These are things that affect even the common man, whether in his lifestyle or his healthcare... things that would have taken us who knows how many years to develop on our own.

And now, despite benefiting firsthand from the deal we struck with the members of the Void Fleet, people are targeting them? Why? By doing so, they are putting the relationship between our two powers in danger!

This will result in harming the interests of our people and could result in a total halt of operations that could potentially make us a great interstellar power—one not limited to a single planet or a single star system.

And yet, people within the dominions of some of you present here are causing such a ruckus, while others behind the scenes are pouring oil onto the fire..."

Bam!

Slamming his table in anger, Maximus shouted, "I want to ask you: why is that? What gall do they have? What audacity do they have to push for something so stupid, huh?!"

"More than seven hundred million to a billion ’unaccounted’ citizens are currently engaged in a well-coordinated digital assault against the Void Fleet—and they are doing it on their own void fleet communication relays! They are flooding the entire Quantum Net digital platform with baseless slander, calling our benefactor an ’interstellar parasite’ and a ’cosmic monster’ who feeds on our people. What the hell is all of this?!"

While Maximus spoke, the large holographic screens continually shifted, displaying the posts that highlighted the points he was making. The words he spoke were not his own, but the very words being unleashed throughout the Quantum Net.

One person in the stands stood up mid-speech. "Lord Maurya!" he called out with a raised voice. "This is simply a protest—something very common in the past. So why make it a big deal when it’s such a small matter? People are just dissatisfied, and they are protesting. What you should be talking about is how to satisfy them, instead of the stuff you’ve been saying."

The speaker was Vane Chaf, one of the local lords of the former Middle Eastern area—a place rich with fossil fuels. He had the support of almost sixty-five million people behind him.

He felt no reason not to refute Maximus, especially since he frankly didn’t recognize the so-called "Senior Members" of the Federation yet—a sentiment his people also shared.

"You!" Maximus hadn’t thought that anyone would even dare interrupt his speech, much less come down on him so heavily and essentially call his words nonsense.

"You call this a protest? How is this a protest? Tell me!" Maximus roared at the man in question. He knew the name well; after all, Vane Chaf had been very popular just a few months ago, and they had even shared tea during a couple of diplomatic exchanges.

But ever since Maximus came to know that this man was allegedly behind a nuclear event—one of which was targeted toward Maximus’s own country—he had been furious. He still was. If not for his country’s strong defenses, would they not have suffered? (Well, that was an exaggeration, but whatever.)

"Of course it is just a protest," Vane Chaf replied smoothly. "And a peaceful one at that, for there are no people on the roads as of yet. Nor have there been any incidents where they caused chaos, have there?"

Of course, Vane knew that wasn’t the truth. What was happening online was a direct defamation campaign, and its repercussions could definitely be far worse than a physical protest, even a chaotic one.

But did he care? No, not at all. He had already received benefits from the Void Fleet and didn’t expect to get much more. (Well, not exactly; he wanted more, but he had a feeling his kind wasn’t liked by the Void Fleet anyway.) So, rather than being submissive, he would rather burn his bridges with them entirely.

"Heh... if you truly believe what you say, then I have to say you are a very idealistic and naive person, Vane," Maximus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. It was clear he didn’t believe a word Vane had said—and he wanted everyone to know it. "But I believe it is the exact opposite.

"Any fool could tell that the repercussions of this campaign will be catastrophic if they aren’t dealt with well. Thankfully, the majority are still those who feel strongly about the future—unlike a few who fear even pigs, yet dare to cause such a ruckus.

"But let me tell you," Maximus continued, narrowing his eyes, "causing a ruckus is one thing if they are unsatisfied with what they’ve been given. But I have to say, you are doing quite well hoarding the very policies we want to implement, huh?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Maximus pointed toward a group in the stands. He looked at several others who bowed their heads in shame and fear; after all, they knew exactly what they had done. They knew why such a large area and the people within it were still not under Federation law, even after months of changes.

"Anyway, before, it was a matter of us not having enough hands to enforce things. That isn’t the case now, ’Lords.’ Now, it seems you have forgotten the limits you have crossed—a limit that should not have been crossed at all. I feel the treatment given to you and your people has always been impartial."

"Heh... ’Limits,’ you say, Lord Maximus?" another person rose up, dressed in white from top to bottom. It was Dorktna. "What limits are you talking about? I don’t get it at all. And even if there were such a thing, I say we should have crossed it a month ago!" He spoke while taking a strong, defiant position.

"Where were these so-called limits when my people"—he put heavy emphasis on my people, as if trying to say that you people and I are different—"were denied their rights when the Void Fleet recruited more than two billion individuals, nearly twenty-five percent of the eligible population of Earth based on the age bracket?

Many of my people, based on such parameters, should have been part of it. But why—why were they left aside? Why?!

When it is the Void Fleet itself that shows partiality and crosses these so-called limits, then why shouldn’t people protest like this? And yes, like Vane said, this is but a mere process, and its hand has not crossed any line so far. That is my judgment," said Dorktna.

"You have the gall to say that, huh?!" Governor Lokesh exploded. Hearing those words from the very person who had caused him numerous problems—problems he had no choice but to ignore because of a lack of hands—sent him over the edge.

"You people are using the infrastructure of the Void Fleet just to spit on them! Without them, do you know how many would have died in this age? Because of their age, because of their medical conditions... one could say they are our saviors!"

Lokesh spoke with a burning passion. His own parents had been suffering—one from last-stage cancer, the other from a heart disease while waiting for a transplant for a long time. It was only because of the grace of the Void Fleet that they had not only survived but had been completely revitalized.