"I'm sorry, Prime Minister. I lost my composure that day. I will take responsibility for this." In the Prime Minister's Office on Dawn Star Planet, Douglas Stamp looked deeply remorseful.
"All I can say is that what happened was indeed wrong, Doug." Francis Underwood, Prime Minister of the Duchy of Dawn, shook his head. "Helmut Zemo is using the media and public opinion to attack us, and we should not have handed him that pretext."
He stood and walked to the window, lifting a corner of the curtain to look at the crowds protesting outside the Governor's Mansion.
With a cold smile, Francis let the curtain fall and said, "A moment of indignation cannot solve the underlying problem. If excessively aggressive war policies are not eased, more resistance will emerge. We cannot repeat the Galactic Empire's mistakes."
"Recent events have made me feel that this storm is unstoppable..." Douglas Stamp sighed.
"That is only an illusion." Francis Underwood spoke calmly. "Zemo and Ling Liang are trying to stir up a movement, using it to blur the contradictions. Others talk to them about working hours, and they talk to you about ideology; others talk to them about exploitation, and they talk to you about ideology; others talk to them about war, and they talk to you about ideology... That is how it is."
"What about us?" Douglas asked.
"We should focus on substantive matters." Francis Underwood made a grasping gesture. "Will war come? Of course it will. I have never denied that, but it should be a defensive war. Our main fleet should not fight within the Galactic Empire's territory. That would only diminish our advantage. The Galactic Empire is unstable internally, and it faces more enemies. Everyone knows that. If they dare launch an offensive, they will be the first