The Shattered Star Ring Civilization Council is a civilization alliance initiated by the seven major star cluster-level civilizations in the star field. Its initial purpose was to facilitate the management of the star field. The three major cosmic-level civilizations generally do not interfere in the daily affairs of other star fields. Most of the time, the star cluster-level or supercluster-level civilizations in the star field are the executive council members.
The executive council of the Shattered Star Ring consists of seven star cluster-level civilizations, responsible for arbitrating and mediating conflicts among members of various star system-level civilizations within the star field. Although the goal is to help everyone resolve conflicts, most of the time, the Civilization Council is a large-scale infighting scene where even the most trivial matters can be brought up for a fight, and there are very few times when real problems are solved.
In the recent Secret War, even the referees, Amethyst and Krent, personally got involved, scratching faces and pulling hair. This clearly revealed the true nature of the Civilization Council on the Shattered Star Ring side.
After all, the Shattered Star Ring is one of the chaotic frontiers of the Explored Universe. Given this environment, the way things are done is more aggressive than in other star systems. In the past, the way meetings were held was for each civilization to send delegations to attend in person. On one occasion, seven star cluster-level civilizations finally couldn't stand the fighting during the meetings, so they changed to participating in the meetings via remote projection.
We're all projectors, so no one can hit anyone else. If you're so capable, come and hit me through the internet cable... Well, it seems like there are examples like that.
In short, the Civilization Council usually convenes regularly to resolve backlogged issues, and the most recent meeting will be held in a few days. This is the first time the Planet Aquamarine civilization has participated in the meeting.
Generally, only civilizations that have reached the galaxy level can obtain a ticket to the council, but Han Xiao made a deal with the major star cluster-level civilizations, allowing Planet Aquamarine to be exceptionally admitted to the council. It is the only civilization in the Shattered Star Ring to attend the meeting at the level of a surface civilization, and Han Xiao himself is the representative of the civilization.
A few days later, the council convened as scheduled. Han Xiao received a notification from the Amethyst Civilization, connected to the council venue through the internal channel, and logged into his remote projection account.
Buzz--
A crackling sound rang out, and a flash of light appeared before Han Xiao's eyes. The next moment, he shared the remote projection's view, and the scene of the council chamber came into view.
Before me was a circular venue, somewhat like a gladiatorial arena. The black tables and chairs on each level were seamlessly connected rings, the lowest in the center, gradually rising from the inside out, one ring after another, forming a stepped structure. No matter where I sat, there was no blind spot in the view, and everything was clearly visible.
The dome and surrounding area of the venue are a starry cosmic sky, likely a simulated indoor scene. The image is a miniature of Shattered Star Ring, and it looks quite grand.
Han Xiao looked down and found that his remote projection was already seated, with Bennett's projection next to him. On the table in front of them was a metal plaque that read "Planet Aquamarine". Their seats were on a higher level. Looking around the venue, remote projections of representatives of various civilizations were coming online one after another, appearing in empty seats. The seats of the representatives of different civilizations were spaced apart and not sitting close together.
"This is the meeting place of the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Council..." Bennett exclaimed in amazement, then turned to Han Xiao, nodding in greeting, "Black Star, you're finally online."
"It hasn't started yet, I'm too early."
Han Xiao looked down and glanced at the center of the venue. The projections of the seven star cluster-level civilization representatives were already online, waiting for all member states to arrive.
"How long have you been here?" Han Xiao withdrew his gaze and turned to ask.
"I was among the first to arrive," Bennett remarked. "It's my first time attending a meeting of this caliber, so I was a little nervous and came early to get a feel for it."
He wasn't nervous because of the grand occasion, but rather because he felt a heavy weight in his heart as he attended the meeting on behalf of the civilization of Planet Aquamarine.
This is also the first time I've personally witnessed the Civilization Council in person... Han Xiao smiled.
The gathering of all named civilizations in a star field—a scene with extremely high participation requirements—was something most players in his previous life had never personally experienced, and he was no exception.
"Black Star, thank you." Bennett's tone suddenly became serious. "If it weren't for you, it would have taken Planet Aquamarine hundreds, even thousands of years to reach this position."
"No need to be polite, it's just a mutually beneficial arrangement." Han Xiao didn't mince words, making it clear that he was in it for the benefit of others. He subconsciously reached out to pat Bennett on the shoulder, but his hand passed right through the other's body. For a moment, he almost forgot that the two of them were currently projections.
Bennett nodded without speaking. His gratitude towards Han Xiao wouldn't diminish because of what Han Xiao said. He was experienced and had long understood that a person's motives were not important; what mattered was what they actually did.
As the two were chatting, representatives from other civilizations noticed Han Xiao and cast their complicated glances at him.
Within the venue, the Planet Aquamarine civilization was an absolute anomaly. Han Xiao had cooperative relationships with many of the civilizations present, and all of them knew about Han Xiao's help in getting Planet Aquamarine into the association. They couldn't help but envy Planet Aquamarine's unique advantages.
With Black Star, a Beyond Grade A Protector, now serving as Dragon Calm's stronghold, how come this little planet is so lucky? Is it truly a place blessed with outstanding people and resources?
Jealousy is one thing, envy is another; the fact that they're sitting here speaks for itself, and none of the civilization representatives present hold any contempt for Planet Aquamarine.
Who can blame them when someone else produces a Beyond Grade A talent? When one person achieves success, even their chickens and dogs benefit. You can't argue with that.
Before long, everyone had finally arrived, and the chatter gradually subsided until it disappeared, leaving the entire room silent.
At this moment, a star cluster-level council member stood up and slowly spoke, his voice amplified throughout the entire venue via nanometer-level amplification equipment:
"It's a pleasure to see all of you familiar friends again. Hmm, the number of attendees hasn't decreased compared to the last meeting, so it seems the security situation in the Shattered Star Ring has improved..."
Everyone wore indifferent expressions, secretly thinking that there were too many flaws and the joke wasn't funny at all.
"As you may have noticed, we have a new member." The council member looked in the direction of Han Xiao and the others, and briefly introduced, "The Planet Aquamarine Civilization, the Aquamarine Federation, and its representative... His Excellency Black Star."
All eyes turned to them, and they all nodded in greeting.
Han Xiao waved his hand, looked around, and then fixed his gaze on Sisko, who was positioned below the Star Pupil Protoss. He chuckled inwardly and raised his hand to greet him.
Sisko remained expressionless, motionless, and seemingly oblivious.
"Lord Black Star is a familiar face to everyone, so I won't go into details." The council member paused, then said, "Now that everyone is here, according to the charter, the meeting will begin. The first item on the agenda..."
Next, representatives from various civilizations took turns presenting their proposals, most of which were long-standing issues such as trade conflicts, border disputes, planetary ownership, and diplomatic condemnations.
The representatives of civilization present were all specially selected masters of rhetoric, with sweet words as sweet as honey. They would argue for half a day on each issue, and in the end, most of them could only come up with the result of temporarily shelving the controversy.
The process was tedious and lengthy, Bennett sat upright, carefully observing each step and learning from the experience.
Han Xiao, however, had long since drifted off into a daze, contemplating the true meaning of the universe and what to eat for dinner.
After waiting for most of the day, the people in front of them finished speaking, and it was finally their turn.
"Proposal number CL7984D66, submitted by the Planet Aquamarine Civilization, please have a representative give a brief presentation..." The council member of the Amethyst Civilization smiled slightly and spoke up to remind them.
Bennett slowly stood up, took out the materials he had prepared beforehand, and began to read them aloud, briefly explaining the actions of the Avitan Wraiths extremists. His voice echoed throughout the room.
Then he looked at Sisko, his tone heavy.
"We discovered advanced Psionic Energy bombs on the ships of these extremists, with the power to destroy the entire Planet Aquamarine. The fact that such advanced military weapons are in the hands of extremists gives us reason to believe that these weapons originated from the Star Pupil Protoss -Star Pupil Protoss, and that their actions were secretly orchestrated by them. We believe you intend to violate the Pan-Universal Civilization Contact Treaty (Seventh Revision) and destroy a civilization protected by the treaty..."
The benefactor of the Avitan Wraiths was a star cluster-level civilization called Talos, an adversary of the Star Pupil Protoss. However, Bennett insisted that the weapons were funded by the Star Pupil Protoss, with the aim of making Sisko the scapegoat.
The expressions on the faces of everyone present turned strange. They were all experienced and knew that Sisko would never do such a thing.
A surface civilization that was admitted through special procedures dared to smear another Beyond Grade A member on its very first meeting? They're incredibly audacious. Having Beyond Grade A member in their ranks is truly advantageous; they can do whatever they want.
The seven star cluster-level council members exchanged glances, and six of them subtly glanced at the seventh person—who was none other than a council member of the Talos Civilization.
The Talos Civilization Council member looked at Sisko with a half-smile, "Representative of the Star Pupil Protoss, what do you have to say?"
"That's slander." Sisko remained calm and unperturbed. "I will not violate the treaty, nor do I have any reason to attack Planet Aquamarine. These extremists were not authorized by me."
"Then how do you explain this?"
"Based on my deduction, this is what happened... Not long ago, Planet Avitan was attacked, and the Evolution Cube was stolen, ultimately taken by Black Star..."
With that, Sisko glared coldly at Han Xiao, then continued, "Due to the attack, some of the Avidan survivors have become extremist haters. In the eyes of the Star Pupil Protoss, the Evolution Cube is our national treasure. Black Star stole our national treasure, causing the extremists' hatred to be transferred to him. Therefore, this incident is a private matter and has nothing to do with the Star Pupil Protoss's official actions. If Planet Aquamarine wants to insist that I did it, please provide evidence."
Han Xiao chuckled and finally spoke, "There's no way to prove it with a dead man's body. Do you think you can clear your name with just a few words?"
"Ha, same to you. Since there's no way to prove it now, you're just trying to slander me with a few baseless conjectures," Sisko said coldly.
Councilor Talos chuckled and said, "Let's put this matter aside for now. Regardless of whether the Star Pupil Protoss authorized it or not, these attackers are indeed your people, right, Sisko?"
Sisko took a deep breath, nodded slowly, and said, "Although we are of the same race, but..."
"No need to say more. The nature of the Star Pupil Protoss is different from other civilizations. Your people should be highly united, but under your rule, extreme hatred organizations have emerged. This is the result of mismanagement," Councilor Talos interrupted him.
"... This is our internal affair. I will begin to purge the Avitan Wraiths and dismantle this extremist organization as soon as possible. You have no right to interfere in anything else," Sisko said firmly.
"If you need it, as a friendly neighbor, we can also send troops to help you eliminate extremist groups."
"... No need." Sisko was shocked. Everyone knew what you were up to. So many people were watching, and you actually said it in public. How shameless!
Councilor Talos chuckled, unperturbed, and returned to the main topic, "We'll discuss your remedial measures later. Right now, we're talking about your responsibility. These extremists are your kin, and when they were preparing to commit the crime, they still held citizenship of the Star Pupil Protoss. In my opinion, the Star Pupil Protoss bears responsibility in this matter."
In reality, whether it's race or citizenship, these factors are all unimportant in the rapidly changing interstellar world; they can be big or small. However, Councilor Talos deliberately wanted to make things difficult for the Star Pupil Protoss.
He wasn't the only board member who did this.
"I think so too," Director Amethyst said with a smile.
"I second that." The other star cluster-level council members nodded in agreement.
The Amethyst Civilization spoke up for Planet Aquamarine out of respect for Han Xiao, while the other star cluster-level civilizations simply wanted to attack the Star Pupil Protoss.
With the support of the Arcane Church, the Star Pupil Protoss is developing rapidly and has the opportunity to become the eighth star cluster-level civilization in the Shattered Star Ring. Others are unwilling to have anyone share their benefits.
Therefore, at this moment, they are on the same side, using this as an excuse to make a fuss.
The other representatives remained silent. Everyone knew perfectly well that all seven council members were jointly smearing them, a rare occurrence, and no one wanted to get involved. Ultimately, it was because the Star Pupil Protoss Clan wanted to destroy someone else's planet, leaving them with leverage, which naturally made them targets.
To be fair, if any of the civilizations present here were to have someone try to destroy their home planet, they would also blame the other party's master for not keeping their mad dog properly leashed.
Suddenly, Sisko seemed to become the target of everyone's condemnation. Bennett was startled. He thought he would at most have a quarrel with Sisko, but he didn't expect so many people to speak up for them. He couldn't help but look at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao smiled. He had expected this. He knew that exposing this matter would give other star cluster-level civilizations an opportunity to make a fuss. The Shattered Star Ring region had already been divided up by seven star cluster-level civilizations, and they certainly wouldn't want to share it with the newcomers. So even if he didn't have evidence, these council members would still speak up for him... These judges weren't without their own opinions.
Sisko's face was grim. He wasn't unaware of the saying "if someone wants to find fault, they'll always find a reason," but he lacked confidence because the other party was the victim, and he did indeed feel somewhat guilty in this matter.
He couldn't help but secretly resent the Avitan Wraiths Organization. These brats were causing trouble, not caring at all about the problems they were creating for civilization, and even making him take the blame for them. It would have been better to let a piece of char siu evolve than to let them evolve.
"So how do you plan to solve this?" Sisko asked sullenly.
Councilor Talos said slowly and deliberately, "I believe you need to publicly apologize to Planet Aquamarine and then provide Planet Aquamarine with some form of emotional compensation."
"Compensation and apologies are out of the question," Sisko said in a deep voice. "At most, a donation."
Donations can also be considered compensation, but the name is different, and so is the meaning.
As the leader of a civilization, he is the representative of the Star Pupil Protoss. He needs to consider the impact from many aspects and would never publicly apologize for the private actions of an extremist organization, just as Goddora would not apologize for the actions of DarkStar... Moreover, Sisko is a Beyond Grade A, and doing so would result in a significant loss of prestige, so he would never bow down for such a matter.
Bennett snapped out of his daze and, at Han Xiao's prompting, forced himself to say, "We strongly condemn the actions of the Star Pupil Protoss and do not accept this insincere outcome."
"Then there's no point in discussing it."
Sisko's eyes were icy as he gave Han Xiao a deep look before suddenly logging off and leaving the venue.
The Star Pupil Protoss enjoys a superior status due to the support of the Arcane Church, and the Civilization Council has limited power to restrain them, making it impossible to force them to submit. However, Sisko cannot do whatever he wants either, and it is not without its losses.
After this incident, it will be twice as difficult for the Star Pupil Protoss to seek cooperation in the future. They lost the Evolution Cube, and the support from the Arcane Church has also weakened. Therefore, this incident is very detrimental to the development of the Star Pupil Protoss.
Not to mention that the Talos Civilization will definitely publicize this matter, launch a propaganda campaign, attack the reputation of the Star Pupil Protoss, and weaken his prestige as a Beyond Grade A.
In Sisko's eyes, the culprit behind all this was Han Xiao. If this guy hadn't been so determined to frame him, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.
At this moment, Sisko's hostility towards Han Xiao escalated to a new level.
Han Xiao's interface also showed activity, indicating that the Star Pupil Protoss's favorability had dropped from -800 points to -1250 points, and the relationship had changed from [hostile] to [enemy].
Sure enough, Sisko was furious... Han Xiao shook his head. Planet Aquamarine was his "mother planet," and he couldn't swallow his anger. Anyway, Sisko and the Arcane Church were destined to be enemies if they didn't give up on the Evolution Cube, so it didn't matter if their hatred deepened a bit.
If Planet Aquamarine were truly destroyed, Sisko wouldn't apologize or offer compensation; he might even gloat. However, disputes over stances are not about right or wrong. Han Xiao didn't think Sisko had done anything wrong, nor would he care what methods he used.
"I wonder what kind of retaliation he will mount..." Han Xiao pondered.
Planet Aquamarine is protected by Peace Treaty, Sisko won't attack anyone else. If he were to retaliate, it would only be against himself.
Iso said the Arcane Church would send people to deal with him, and Sisko, who could pinpoint the location, would definitely be one of them.
Han Xiao made up his mind to have people at headquarters keep an eye on Sisko's whereabouts, which was tantamount to indirectly monitoring the movements of the Arcane Church.
Meanwhile, on the home planet of the Star Pupil Protoss Clan, Sisko disconnected from the council chamber, his expression grim.
After a moment of silence, Sisko sent a message to the Arcane Church:
"That matter... I agreed."
The Arcane Church is about to give him a task, which Sisko was initially considering but has now decided to undertake.
Sisko's indifferent expression was reflected on the communicator screen.
"Black Star, you should stay in the Shattered World and never come back."