The Xin attacked STO space? Alexander hadn't thought much about the Xin forces since leaving Unokane. Their attacks on the Asgardian border had continued, but they had been pushed back thanks to his automated ships reaching the fleets and bolstering the Asgardian ranks.

Even the stealth satellites had noticed a slowdown in Xin forces being moved toward the border. Thanks to the comm nodes, that information had been communicated to Katalynn and her people, allowing the Asgardian forces to quickly respond to incursions, further weakening the Grand Admiral's hold on the border.

He turned toward Katalynn and spoke softly so only she could hear. "Why would Xin open a second front?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Grand Admiral Xin is no fool, the man must have had a reason. Maybe you can ask the STO during your inquiry."

"You think they'll still hold that, considering what is happening?" he asked.

She gave him a knowing look.

He sighed. "Yeah, they probably would."

Alexander didn't voice his other opinion, which was that maybe the Xin would pull back or stop sending reinforcements against the Asgardians now that they were fighting the STO. He didn't know that for sure, and it would be in very bad taste considering his present company.

As soon as they reached the Speaker's podium, the Speaker banged her gavel down. "Now that we have had time to collect ourselves, raise your hand if you have a question for our guests, and Mr. Kane will choose who he answers."

Over half of the hands went up, and Alexander groaned internally. That was a lot of questions.

He pointed to Mr. Coronado, who had moved to the tiered seating section. The man smiled and put his hand down.

"Mr. Kane, I reviewed the footage you provided, and I'm curious as to how such a small fleet was able to defeat Harlow's armada."

Alexander saw Katalynn narrow her eyes at the man's statement. To her, it probably sounded like the man was doubting the veracity of the video. To be fair, they had edited the video to keep certain things from being discovered, but not the size of the defensive fleet or Harlow's.

"Incentive, good planning, and steadfast allies," Alexander replied before quickly picking another person before Coronado could get out a follow-up question.

The man immediately cut off his question as the next person shouted out theirs, eager to be heard. Just because Alexander wasn't a politician by trade didn't mean he didn't know some tricks to deal with them.

"Why didn't you monetize the fight like you did with the execution?" a younger man asked.

The question surprised Alexander, but not enough to stop him from responding quickly. "We were more concerned with surviving at that time," he said pointedly, a bit of disgust seeping into his tone.

Seriously, what a stupid question.

For the next half an hour, Alexander fielded more stupid questions and a few good ones.

"You obviously had better technology than the pirates. Is there any chance you are willing to share that with us?" an older woman asked.

"If we can come to an agreement, I don't see why BSE couldn't set up another corporate headquarters on Earth." Alexander left the statement purposefully vague to make them assume that it was dependent on the Asgardian Union being recognized. It wasn't, but they didn't need to know that. The truth was, he already had plans in motion and shell companies set up to mask his involvement with the new technology if an agreement wasn't reached.

The council hadn't figured out that he was part of the Union, but it didn't take much longer for someone to ask about their connection.

The question came from an older gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair and sharp blue eyes. "Mr. Kane, why did you choose to ally yourself with the Asgardian Union instead of the STO?" This content was first released on MV_LEMPYR.

"That question has a few answers," Alexander started. "During that time, the STO was busy with the pirate incursion." There were other reasons he hadn't wanted to side with the STO, but he didn't mention those. "The other reason is that I am part of the Union."

Gasps of shock filled the room.

Alexander chose to continue. "That occurred after my establishment of BSE as a sovereign entity."

Now that the cards were on the table, it was up to the UEC to decide. Did they want to alienate a possible ally and economic resource, or did they overrule the STO's decision, giving Alexander the wedge he needed to crack the stigma that had been lumped on the Union for nearly a hundred and fifty years?

Stolen story; please report.

Alexander was going to keep picking questions, but the Speaker struck her gavel down lightly a few times to get everyone's attention.

"I believe we have had most of our questions answered," she stated. "I would like to propose a vote on Mr. Kane's initial request. Who will second me?"

"I will," came Coronado's response.

The man obviously wanted to ingratiate himself with Alexander, which was fine. If he did establish a legitimate headquarters on Earth, he wanted to do it in North America, as that is where most of his memories came from. If anything was going to jog his mind, it would be moving around the country he knew the best, even if it wasn't the United States anymore.

"Thank you, Councilor Coronado," the Speaker stated. "To refresh everyone's minds, the vote we are considering is the recognition of the Asgardian Union as an independent political entity. Please use your voting buttons now."

It took less than a minute for the votes to be cast and tallied, the result displayed on the holo-screen behind the Speaker's podium shocked Alexander. It was much closer than he would have thought. Only fifty-three percent voted to accept, while forty-one percent voted to reject the proposal. The rest abstained.

Alexander wasn't even sure if Coronado had voted yes or no, considering the votes were anonymous.

"The vote has passed," the Speaker stated. "Let it be noted in the records that on the fifth of March, 2403, the UEC council officially recognizes the Asgardian Union as a sovereign political entity with all that entails, overwriting and abolishing any previous labels held by their people. Congratulations, Mr. Kane, and Lagertha Char. We look forward to future trade with the Union. Council is dismissed for the rest of the day."

A few people clapped at the successful vote, but most simply got up and walked out. It was all rather anticlimactic considering the importance it held for him and the Asgardians, but he supposed the council had more important concerns on their mind with the Xin war ramping up right on the heels of the last one.

Maybe that's why Xin chose to strike now. The STO was still cleaning up the mess left behind by the pirates, and their fleets had yet to return to their normal patrol routes. That wouldn't last forever.

Had killing Harlow sped up Xin's timetable, forcing him to act early?

It certainly seemed like a hasty move, considering the slow, methodical approach the man had taken on the Asgardian border.

Before they exited the council chambers, Coronado intercepted them. Technically, it was more accurate to say that their guards intercepted Coronado, stopping the man from approaching on his own accord.

The man seemed unperturbed by his situation, waiting calmly for Alexander to cover the remaining distance.

"Congratulations on your swift decision," Coronado said. "Councilor Young and I would very much like an opportunity to discuss business with you and Lagertha Char in further detail if you are open to it."

"I got what I wanted," Katalynn stated. "Perhaps when the STO proves that they aren't all puppets, we shall speak then."

Coronado did his best to mask his shock at such a blatant statement, but Alexander still caught it.

"I'll be on the shuttle," she said, before walking past Coronado without a second glance. Her guards left with her, leaving Alexander alone with the NAA councilor and his guards.

"You get used to their bluntness," Alexander said after Katalynn had left the side hallway.

The man cleared his throat and turned back toward Alexander. "She reminds me of the spirited women from back in my home country, it's just surprising to hear such a statement from a politician. My Apologies, where were we?"

"You wanted to discuss business opportunities."

"Right. If you would be amenable. I was planning on clearing our schedules for this evening so we could discuss it over dinner, but since Lagertha Char will not be joining us, I feel like that would be insensitive considering your…"

Alexander made his avatar smile. "I'm used to watching other people eat, Mr. Coronado, even though I can't myself, but if you would prefer, we can simply have a normal meeting."

"I think that would be for the best," he stated. "I can't give up our reservation, so how about a few days from now?"

Alexander confirmed the time and place before shaking the man's hand and leaving the UEC building.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he missed the projectile heading his way.

The aluminum can bounced off his torso, spilling the remains of its contents on the ground as a man nearby cursed him.

"We don't need no damn robots taking our jobs," the disgusting and obviously drunk homeless man stated before some UEC guards rushed over to arrest him.

He would have asked why his own guards hadn't stopped the man, but that wasn't necessary. They had discussed his security in depth long ago. They weren't there to protect him against drunks; they were there to look out for real threats, and that man wasn't, despite his belligerence. If anything, he should be asking the UEC why they let someone like that get close to the building in the first place.

Alexander continued toward the shuttle as he watched the UEC guards drag the now-stunned individual off.

It seemed Earth still had its problems.

As he climbed into the cockpit, he heard Katalynn sniff and turn his way. "Celebrating early?"

"A drunk threw a beer can at me. Some of it must have spilled on my clothes, I'll have to shower back on the ship."

"I honestly expected more from Earth, but the planet hasn't really impressed me so far. The people are the worst. They fixate on inconsequential garbage and pretend it's important just to look like they are doing something without actually dealing with problems like that drunk."

Katalynn's words were filled with venom, but Alexander felt the need to defend Earth. "One drunk is hardly a huge problem. You have to give them some credit, they have over eleven billion people on Earth, and most of their natural resources are long gone."

"It is a symptom of a deeper rot," she stated. "As for their resources, the planet's might be tapped out, but there are more than enough in the system and surrounding systems to make up for that. The fact that Earth is the poorest core world is their own fault."

Alexander sighed. He knew he wasn't going to convince Katalynn to change her opinion of Earth or the STO anytime soon. He wasn't even sure if he disagreed, honestly. He doubted he would change his opinion on the STO, so he decided to drop the subject as he prepped the shuttle for launch.