>: UMC DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE

[Reeves]

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Sender: Adjutant O. Bancroft
Recipient: Ambassador Setsuna Kobayashi, Utsunomiya Commonwealth
Subject: Re: 1st Annual Utsunomiya Grand Sirius Cultural Festival

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Ambassador Kobayashi.

We've arrived aboard the Retribution, a Defiant class gunboat out of the Alliance fleet. Somewhat ahead of schedule, I'll admit, but there's good reason for it. The orchestra we're bringing requires time to settle in and begin rehearsals before the festival opens, and anyone who has ever moved musical equipment across the black will tell you that something always goes wrong in transit. Better to have the time to deal with it than to be scrambling the night before.

We're grateful for the invitation. That hasn't changed.

"There is hope under the White Star."
- Adjutant Oscar "Knight of Cups" Bancroft

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