Diplomatic Conference Channel

[Tenacity]

Thank you for joining the conference, Vladimir;

I realize that the congress' views on junker activities are that of distanced non-involvement - the problem is that organizations around sirius are targeting the congress, the union, and other 'official' junker leadership bodies as responsible for the actions of those individuals who deem it appropriate to be reckless in their ventures.

I realize that we cannot take responsibility for the actions of these few, but those responsibilities are being [i]forced[/u] upon us due to the nondistinction other groups view us with. Every time a careless self-employed Junker Smuggler gets scanned carrying contraband, it is our groups that the lawfuls target with retaliation. They expect us to handle the problem, and if we dont handle the problem they expect us to be 'ok' with being labelled as full blown criminals.

We cannot allow this to continue. We cannot allow individuals who have no concern for the rest of the Junker populace to jeopardize our affiliations with other factions around Sirius, or we will soon find ourselves fighting a war that we never had any intention of starting. That is something that will likely crush us, Junkers have never been a head on military force.

I do not see why we should protect those who whould incriminate themselves, especially when the organizations they are working for - such as the outcasts - wish to see our downfall; and that is exactly what it will come to if we do not take action.

Prior to these events, I respected the unaffiliated approach the Junker's Congress took towards the behavior of 'individual' junkers, but that approach and lack of action could prove to be our undoing as a whole. If we continue to let things descend at the rate they are, it will not be long before house governments brand us as criminals and order their police and military forces to destroy us on sight. Junkers with lawful intent, such as the Union, will no longer be able to exist if that occurs, as our operations require us to maintain an open and peaceful relation with the authorities in the areas in which we operate.

And another issue at hand - the harvesters. We have a neutrality agreement with them: we dont hinder their resource gathering, and in exchange they do not attack us and occasionally offer protection to junker stations which they consider valuable. However, dozens of reports come in by the day of reckless junker pilots attempting to use the harvesters as a threat against any enemies - primarily the house police and military organizations.

This creates extreme tension in our relations with these lawful factions, as the harvesters are considered by many to be a dire threat to human existence within the sirius sector. The careless words of junkers who were not smart enough to avoid police patrols is causing the house governments to associate us with a severe threat, and by association that gives them enough reason to attack us on sight.

Something must be done, and it must be done now - or there will be no junkers left.

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