As the ambassadors of the major civilizations took their seats one after another, six enormous figures lit up in the six seats at the very top.
Jane spotted the familiar Duke among them and immediately worked out the identities of all six figures.
First was the young man in a black robe trimmed with gold: Duke Dalton, Supreme Leader of the Shatra Civilization.
The man wearing white-and-gold clerical robes and a hat with unmistakably religious styling was Sid Ackerman, the current Pontiff of the Kabonebog Church.
The woman in what resembled a ball gown and a veil, which did nothing to conceal her regal beauty, was Jenny Martha, Alliance Leader of the Pan Chabuko Alliance.
There was also an enormously fat man in a skintight nanosuit, half his body converted into mechanical prosthetics. Through the Legion's Database, Jane immediately recognized him as the chairman of the Vax Corporation from fifty thousand years ago. The fact that he was still alive piqued her interest. And instead of its Public Security Department minister, the Vax Corporation had sent its chairman?
Jane surmised that this chairman might be the true decision-maker at the Vax Corporation. The fat man's name was Henry Brown.
The remaining two men wore military uniforms, one entirely black, the other a somewhat casual white military shirt.
Soon, Jane learned who these two men really were.
Duke's projection addressed the man in the black uniform.
"Are you Balchik's new Commander-in-Chief?"
The man in the black uniform shook his head.
"No, I'm merely a lowly soldier serving under the Commander-in-Chief."
Before anyone else could speak, Jenny said softly,
"If even you are just a lowly soldier, there's no point in any of us fighting anymore. Why don't we simply surrender to Balchik?"
Sid, Pontiff of the Kabonebog Church, was the first