The Ides
The Ides
| Chapter 6: "The Ides" | |
|---|---|
| Major players | |
| Vote outcome | |
| Major events | |
| Timeline Chronology | |
| Previous Chapter | Next Chapter |
| "On the Brink" | "The Void" |
Summary
While the Universal Council continued to monitor the situation on Mímir, as well as conduct investigations into both the Pinnacle and the disappearance of the Crimson Wolves’ command ship, tragedy struck. Imperial Councilor Julius Lycanis was found dead in his personal cabin when his ship reached Eden Lycanis, having departed from station Ignis after the previous conference. His wife, Marcia Lycanis, was able to open the gene-locked doors when she found him stabbed in the back with a curved dagger.
Preliminary investigations revealed that his voice had been looped through the ship’s comms to reassure the crew only moments prior; additionally, forensics suggested that the dagger was not the main cause of death, but rather a poison found in Councilor Lycanis’ bloodstream, primarily manufactured in the Federation. Investigators also found that while Lycanis’ room contained a panic button, and the position of the body suggested that it was well within his ability to trigger the alarm, no such alarm had been raised.
Investigations into the records revealed that two persons of interest had entered Councilor Lycanis’ cabin while the ship was docked at Station Ignis, shortly before his death - Imperial Councilor Moira Craine, and Ana Plíšková, assistant to Federation Councilor Victor Huxley; Plíšková had also been the last person to enter Lycanis’ cabin. Upon consulting the Oracle, who revealed that the murder ‘did not come from within’, House Lycanis immediately appealed to the Universal Council to hand over Plíšková to them.
The Empire, however, submitted two proposals to the Council: should House Lycanis be compelled to, they could conduct a DNA scan on the knife - though that risked further angering the House. On the other hand, should the Council agree to hand over Plíšková, the Empire was amenable to allowing the other factions the aid of the Oracle for a single vote in the future. Faced with these proposals, the Council brought the matter to a vote, with the seated Councilmembers briefing their respective factions accordingly.
With all three factions coming to a unanimous agreement to conduct a DNA scan, a fleet of forensic scientists was dispatched to Eden Lycanis to perform the scan and correspondingly update the results.
Transcript
Report from the 22nd conference of the Universal Council: time of ζ Sagittarii 3.32
Held on board station Ignis, in the neutral center of the Core Systems.Councilmembers for the Empire: Ji Young-Joo, Moira Craine
Councilmembers for the Federation: Kim Lee, Victor Huxley, Elijah Burke
Councilmembers for the Union: Aish Fenix, Mandla Bankole, Trice ChavosThe following is a transcript of the briefing on the relevant vote for those involved in the Explorer program:
…It seems the activity around Mímir is increasing. The bursts of light are more frequent, and cover the entire planet. Now that the evacuation of Kepler-7 is complete and investigation into the Pinnacle’s malfunctioning Quantum Drive can begin full force, the Universal Council will send reinforcements to the Panopea as soon as it can.
Our crew analyzing the disappearance of the Crimson Wolves’ command ship has isolated the Quantum wave data from before the ship vanished. At first glance, this data appears similar to the most recent readings from the Pinnacle. Further research will hopefully shed more light on this.
Moving on to our main discussion for this week. Most of you will already know this, but Councilor Lycanis has been murdered. Before we have the time to mourn his tragic passing, it falls to the Council to make a decision. Julius Lycanis’ death was no accident, that much is clear.
His ship departed station Ignis directly after the 21st conference, returning to the Eden planet of house Lycanis for the execution. Slightly before arrival, the crew checked on Lycanis, who had been in his cabin the entire journey. Through the comms, Lycanis assured them that he was doing fine, and asked the crew to leave him be. As the doors to his cabin were gene-locked, the crew waited until arriving at Eden Lycanis before having Marcia Lycanis, Julius’ wife, open the door.
It was there that Julius was found, stabbed in the back with a curved dagger, his robes drenched, a pool of blood around him. Upon brief examination of the comms, the crew found that they had been wired to loop the same audio. The particular nature of the veins in Julius’ forehead identified that the dagger was also not the main cause of death, but rather a poison manufactured primarily in the Federation. Another peculiarity of this incident is that Councilor Lycanis’ room contains a trigger for raising the alarm. The position of his body suggests he would have been more than capable of using this, but did not do so.
Records of entry to Councilor Lycanis’ room show only two other occupants in the time before the ship departed station Ignis: Councilor Craine, and Ana Plíšková, assistant to Councilor Huxley. Ana Plíšková was the last to enter the Councilor’s room, only an hour before his ship left the station. After hearing this, house Lycanis consulted the Oracle, which assured the Emperor that the murder “did not come from within”. House Lycanis is now demanding the Council hand Ana Plíšková over to them, so they may put her to justice.
Other factions, and even some of the Imperial councilmembers here, are somewhat sceptical. The Empire often eschews DNA-scans, believing them a disregard for the Oracle’s insights. However, if ordered by the Council, House Lycanis could be made to conduct one on the knife that stabbed Julius. Additionally, though the Emperor continues to distance himself from this issue, councilmember Ji Young-Joo has assured us that, if the Council chooses to place its trust in the Oracle in this instance, the Empire will offer the aid of their artifact to the Council for a single vote in the future. Thus, the vote placed before the Council is as follows:
Does the Council offer up Ana Plíšková to house Lycanis to prevent further escalation, in return for a single use of the Oracle in future, or does the Council order that a DNA-scan be conducted on the blade that stabbed Julius Lycanis, and risk angering his house further?
Your faction contact will issue a statement shortly in your respective vote channels before the commencement of the vote, twelve hours from now.
Faction Storylines
Voting Results
The Universal Council has consolidated the votes of each of the factions: Offer up Ana 0 () , Conduct a DNA-scan 3 (Empire,Federation,Union)
The final vote is in favor of conducting a DNA-scan on the knife that stabbed Julius Lycanis. Marcia Lycanis and her house have been informed of this decision. Though the outcome has clearly angered the house, they have done nothing to directly oppose the scan. A fleet containing some of the Council’s best forensic scientists has already been dispatched, and we are expecting results from the DNA-scan soon.
The Turn
Summary
Transcript
| Expedition to Mímir: | The Catalyst • The Shard • The Crossroads • The Void • Subjugation • The Cradle • Dire Straits • Last Stand |
| Assault on the Crimson Wolves: | The Crimson Wolves • The Ides • Groundswell |
| The Morn Conflict: | On the Brink |
| The Pinnacle Incident: | Quantum Sickness • First Steps |
| The Vargas Epidemic: | Blackout |
| The Opening: | First Contact |