Brakiri Fiasco - 22/12/98

A few days ago the Brakiri Withdrew from the TSA and quit as president of the alliance, the Brakiri Emporer gave this statement:

"I know that there was nothing to provoke this move, but effective immediately I am resigning as President of the TSA and withdrawing my membership. I just feel that I need some time to myself as a sovereign government. I need some time to get established in the galaxy. I have also reconsidered my policies. I will still be Vorlon allied, I will not however tolerate any acts of aggression as against my government as much as I did before. Not from you guys, but from VorlonDAW and those types of folks. I didnt mean for that to appear as a threat to you guys. You could say that i am becoming more militaristic, and you would be correct. I, of course, pose no threat to you however. Maybe once I feel that I am satisfied with how I am, I will reapply to the Alliance. I know that the Shadow War is nearly upon us, and I wish you all good luck. With any luck, we will all be around at the end of it to share in the glory of victory."

Then for unknown reasons 24 hours later the Brakiri gave the following statement:

"I request reentry into the TSA. I understand if you deny me, because I DID leave you stranded out there with no warning or notice. I just hope that you all will forgive my previous actions.  I could never trust another alliance the way I trusted this one. Of course, the Ikaarans would still retain the office of President. I wouldnt even think of taking that back from them. Well, I await your answer."

The remaining members of the TSA responded by 3 voting to allow the Brakiri Back in, and 1 not voting.  The Brakiri then Added more to this statement by saying this:

"I understand that what I did the other day was a wrong move. I do not even know all of the reasons why I did it. All I can tell you is that it was a momentary lapse of judgement on my part. In my resignation letter, I implied that the Brakiri Alliance had become more militaristically minded. That will not change, whether I am in the TSA or not. I am tired of being scammed and taken advantage of. The climax of this feeling was when Na'Shall failed to pay the Xon and Centauri, and we did absolutely nothing about it but make a few statements. Anyway, I am writing you this letter to apologize. The situation about what office I will hold has come up. I can understand what some of your feelings about this may be, but I request that I be reinstated as President of the Alliance. My reasons are simple. I personally have put more work into this Alliance then anyone else. I created the web site. I organized the creation of the TSA government itself. I was the one who even came up with the idea for the TSA in the first place. Also, I was always there when you all needed help. I have been selling the Ikaarans many many technologies for an embarrassingly low price. I offered to send my ships to the Xon/Centauri sector when the Thrakalleans were making their encroachments and threats. Granted, I made a mistake. No one is perfect. I ask that you forgive me and that we put this entire matter behind us."

Then Mr. Mitchell went and contradicted Himself on virtually everything he stated in his last statement with this shocking statement:

"I regret to inform you that I am withdrawing my membership once again. This time it is serious. I will not, and I repeat will NOT be sending you another application in the next few days as I did before. My reasons are clear. My last resignation has made the rest of you lose both faith and confidence in me. I can see that the type of trust we had before will not be attainable again. I will be attempting to create a small one sector alliance for myself and the other races in my sector. Certainly nothing as elaborate as the TSA, but hopefully effective all the same. Although I am not going to be in the Alliance, I hope to still keep up good relations with all of you. Again, I will not be reapplying.  I havent reverted to the Republic however. I am still the Alliance, just not in an alliance."

Then Dan Randal had this interview with President Pete Mitchell of the Brakiri Alliance:

 Dan Randal: so Mr Mitchell, can we have a statement regarding your second resignation?

 Pete Mitchell: The other members did nothing to bring me to this action

 Dan Randal:so it was a purely tactical decision Dan Randal: what has made you review your  approach and destiny in the universe? a revelation requires prompting                                        

 Pete Mitchell: Yes, it was a tactical decision that my Cabinet of advisors informed me I should  do. The TSA is a great alliance. Its members are strong and smart. I felt that with  the Shadow  War approaching, I should begin expansionist movements to form a barrier between  Shadow  territory and my homeworld.

 Dan Randal:how was being president of the TSA interfering with this desire?  

 Pete Mitchell: I could not do that while in the TSA, because I would inadvertently be bringing  heat onto the Alliance. They would view the Alliance as a whole as a threat, this way, I am  keeping the TSA safe from verbal, and military attacks.

 Dan Randal: do you plan to join later once you are happy with your sphere of influence?

 Pete Mitchell: Possibly, but my recent and forthcoming actions could damage Brakiri/TSA  relations. We would have to wait and see on what type of ground we are on once this campaign  is complete.

 Dan Randal: I see, so its not just colonising empty planets? more like taking by force?

 Pete Mitchell: Yes it is colonising empty planets, but if I encounter resistance then we could have  some unintentional conflicts. I am in no way going to make movements against the TSA. That is  not what I meant by "damaging relations". My actions could be seen as threatening to them  however.

 Dan Randal: I see, so basically you are protecting them from harmful opinions, during your  campaign

 Pete Mitchell: Exactly

The Brakiri a few Days later Contradicted his previous statements with a dubious cover story:

"I apologize for my recent actions. I was under influence from Shadow conspirators within my government. Those conspirators have since been arrested. My government has now stabilized itself and reverted to pre-resignation format. All expansionist ideals that were spoken of in recent days have been halted. I will still be expanding, but through colonization rather then conquest. The Brakiri Alliance you all knew is back and stronger then i was before. I hereby reapply to the TSA with the full intention of serving it, and the Vorlon Empire, to the best of my ability."

We then sent Dan Randal for a second interview to better understand these recent events:

 Dan Randal: Can you give us a brief sumary of events in the TSA over the last week, its been a  bit of a roundabout.

 Pete Mitchell: Sure. Last week, the Brakiri Alliance had elections for public offices. Somehow,  the Shadows rigged the elections so that Shadow sympathizers would come to office in the  Brakiri govt. Once the conspirators were in, they began to undermine the government. First was  by threatening my family if I did not begin voting the "right" way.  They also saw how powerful  the TSA was becoming and told me I had towithdraw from it or i would suffer considerably. I  did. Now that they have been arrested, I am rejoining. I have also been able to get another  Vorlon ally to apply for entrance into the TSA.

 Dan Randal: What measures have been taken to insure this isn't repeated?

 Pete Mitchell: The backgrounds of all politicians have been scanned and will be scanned in the  future. If they are even thought of being Shadow sympathizers, they will be arrested. Planetwide  raids are also being carried out against suspected Shadow sympathizers.

 Dan Randal: Will the brakiri be more confident now about shadow influence?

 Pete Mitchell: Yes, we are becoming more centralized and resistant to outside influences. The  BA has not officially been readmitted into the TSA, however we hope that the TSA will forgive  our recent actions and allow us back in.  

 Dan Randal: Is this good to be immune to outside influences whilst leading an alliance? of  different backgrounds?  

 Pete Mitchell: Leading the TSA?  

 Dan Randal: well, assuming it as you said , goes back to pre-resignation format

 Pete Mitchell: In my opinion, it cant hurt.

 Dan Randal:What will be your next step if they do not forgive?

 Pete Mitchell: If they do not forgive, then I will have no choice but to go on my own. I do not  trust the other races as much as I did the TSA. I could not owe my alligniance to anyone else.

 Dan Randal: so no plans for other alliances if this one rejects you?

 Pete Mitchell: No plans as yet. I might be able to gather up a few similar governments...lone  Vorlon allies, and establish a provisional alliance, but i doubt it could be as elaborate and well  thought out as the TSA.

 Dan Randal: how are you going to make it up to the other members of the TSA? who have been  put out by your actions

 Pete Mitchell: What do you mean by put out?

 Dan Randal: disrupted

 Pete Mitchell: I have offered my apologies for what my government has done. I do not know  what else I can do except assure them that this will not happen again.

 Dan Randal:How do you feel people's trust will be sustained, when you publicly contradicted  yourself in statements of non re-application, only to re-apply 1 day later? Can the trust ever be  the same as before?

 Pete Mitchell: I have no idea. That can only be established in time.

 Dan Randal: After all after your first reapplication, you stated it was over and would not happen  again, so why did it?

 Pete Mitchell: This entire time has been an awkward one for myself and my government. It  happened because of one reason, and this is a statement to all Vorlon allied governments: A  government will not be able to stand alone in the War which is to come. You will need allies.

 Dan Randal: thank you for your time mr. mitchel, have you anything you wish to add to this  interview?

 Pete Mitchell: This is a statement to all governments: The Darkness is approaching. If you are  Shadow allied, then i pity you. If you are neutral, let me tell you that the Shadows will not care. If  you are between them and their goal, they will not think twice about disposing of you. When the  war comes, the two sides will do anything they can to destroy the other one. If you are caught in  the middle, then you will be ravaged by both sides.... It is better to have at least one side that will  not do damage to you, and that side is the Army of Light.

ISN can not truley understand these resont events but the whole situation should be resolved by a series of votes by the remaining members of the TSA.

Dan is now trying to interview the other members of the TSA and get their opinions on this fiasco and other incidents concerning their governments.