President Keith Nishita received the news while lying in a hospital bed. At the time, he was undergoing his final checkup before entering the medical pod. When he heard the news Yang Mingzhao brought him, he was briefly dazed, then put on a carefully calibrated mask of pain and sorrow. "Is that so? Marshal Erwin is gone? The spirit of the universe is truly unfair. He was a hero of the War of Independence, and he had already fought the toughest battles for us younger generations. He should have spent his twilight years in peace at a warm estate. But why did things have to turn out this way?"
Yang Mingzhao was just as grief-stricken. He had nothing but respect for the old hero of the War of Independence. He had always felt that there were several high-ranking officials aboard the ship, but none of them could match Marshal Erwin's stature. You could even say...
Hmm, continuing down that line of thought was a little dangerous. Yang Mingzhao quickly stopped himself.
"Those killed in the attack also include Senator Rao and Ms. Butler, Deputy Foreign Minister Vadio, and the chairman of the Shipping Commission..."
The president said nothing, keeping his sorrowful expression as though mourning his colleagues. But Yang Mingzhao could tell that the other man's attention had begun to wander.
He seemed to feel some genuine sorrow for Marshal Erwin, but his grief for the others was entirely by the book.
Still, when he confirmed that Mr. Speed, chairman of the Shipping Commission, was on the list, he couldn't help wiping away a nonexistent tear.
As everyone knew, this was an age of great space exploration. Interstellar shipping was practically the backbone of every nation and people—if not the backbone of them all. The Commonwealth government was no exception,