Joric: Are you sure you want to do this right now?

Lyra: Yes… I’m sure… How did you want to start?

Joric: Name and Date for the record.

Lyra: Lyra Seraphina, Concordant. Year 49,998 Deca 30 Cycle 8. Do you want time too?

Joric: No, just the date is fine. So, can you explain what happened at the Veridian Summit?

Lyra: That's complicated. Do you want to go all the way back at the beginning? Or just where everything went wrong?

Joric: Let's go all the way to the beginning. How did the contact with Veridian begin?

Lyra: Vorak was working with a contact on the Veridian Data Trust. They had worked with Vorak and the Severed Fold for many years.

Joric: Officially?

Lyra: At the time, I had believed so.

Joric: Just you? Did anyone else know about the existing relationship?

Lyra: Yes. The leaders of the Concordia Society knew as well. 

Joric: How did they find out about it?

Lyra: I brought it up to them. They inferred that the relationship was friendly. I had attempted to persuade them that it was a transactional relationship. However, the leaders believed that even transactions could stand as the basis for an alliance.

Joric: What happened after they were made aware?

Lyra: The High Concordant Rynce had begun a dialogue with the leaders at Veridian.

Joric: Did you know specifically who with?

Lyra: I had connected Vorak’s contact to High Concordant, where it went beyond that, I did not know.

Joric: The High Concordant never told you who he was speaking with?

Lyra: …No, he did not, nor did he tell any of the other Concordants. When we asked him who gave him the information, he simply replied that he would not betray his source. Just that they were willing to peacefully join with us against the Varkh Ascendancy.

Joric: Did he tell you any more about their supposed defection?

Lyra: He had told us that the Veridian was filled with citizens angry with the Varkh. 

Joric: Did you believe him?

Lyra: We always try to assume the best of people, that's what the Concordia Society was founded to believe. That every citizen when faced with the opportunity would do the right thing.

Joric: Did you believe him though?

Lyra: I’ve lived under the thumb of the Varkh for 20 years, I know what that kind of pervasive control can do to people. I had always wanted to be that open minded.

Joric: Lyra.

Lyra: Yes?

Joric: Did you believe the High Concordant that the whole of Veridian had wanted to defect?

Lyra: In my heart, yes. I had wanted to believe that others could break free. In my head, no. I had seen first hand how control can break people down.

Joric: What was the plan for the defection?

Lyra: The High Concordant would be on the planet to meet with the representative. He had planned to broadcast the defection across the sector to prove that a planet can choose to live differently.

Joric: How did the rest of the Concordia Society come to be on Veridian?

Lyra: The High Concordant was assured by his contact that the Concordia Society would be welcomed with open arms. He relayed this message to the rest of the society who were eager to set foot on a planet that would welcome them.

Joric: Did anyone question it? Did you?

Lyra: …No. We were all so blinded by the opportunity that we failed to see it was just gilded.

Joric: So when did the first cracks appear?

Lyra: I spoke with Vorak again. He mentioned his contact had been growing increasingly distant.

Joric: Did he give a reason?

Lyra: No, but he began growing protective over me. Worried when we would go to Veridian.

Joric: So Vorak wanted to join you?

Lyra: Yes… He insisted. 

Joric: So how did you get to Veridian?

Lyra: We had begun our preparations, utilizing our allies in the Severed Fold we were covertly delivered outside the system to an awaiting transport.

Joric: Did anyone seem unusual? Anything seem suspicious about Veridian itself?

Lyra: The High Concordant had been on the planet for several cycles before the rest of us arrived. He had painted a rosy picture of the sentiment on the planet itself. When we landed it was much like he had described, citizens happy to meet with us. Areas for us to explore and other people we could meet with.

Joric: So what happened after landing?

Lyra: We were waiting for the rest of the Concordia Society to arrive. As we were amongst the earlier arrivals.

Joric: We?

Lyra: Vorak and I. 

Joric: Had Vorak or any of the Concordia been on Veridian before?

Lyra: Vorak had. He mentioned that it seemed different. I asked him to explain, but he mentioned that he had mostly been on the service areas, not the admin areas. 

Joric: Did he say what the difference actually was? Or was it just a feeling?

Lyra: It seemed to be mostly a feeling he had. I had spent the first day walking the extent of our allowed area. Beyond it I heard faint sounds, but nothing I could make any sense of.

Joric: Was there something keeping you in the area?

Lyra: The city was walled in, and the gates each had a guard. It all seemed normal at the time. The High Concord insisted that the guards were armed to maintain the illusion of Varkh presence in case a patrol came by.

Joric: Alright, well what happened after?

Lyra: Vorak had wanted to go meet his contact, but was denied leave from the town. This was when my suspicions had started. Vorak had seen this planet, he had said it was a decent place with decent people. But everyone we spoke to seemed like they were just reciting lines…

Joric: Saying what?

Lyra: Well each person we spoke to would recite lines from the Concordia Society history. Like they had studied us. But when I was with Vorak you could see the look of disgust behind their eyes every time they looked at his augmentations.

Joric: Alright, let's get into where it all went wrong.

Lyra: …

[A deep sigh, the sound of tapping]

Lyra: When the rest of the society had arrived there was a great feast. At which we would be the welcomed guest of honor. Musicians played, people danced, it all seemed jovial. I wanted to let my guard down, I saw the rest of the society begin to enjoy themselves… but when I looked around I saw the guards still standing at full attention, and when I turned to Vorak he had noticed the same.

Joric: Isn’t that normal for guards? Not to be enjoying the festivities, but to be focused on their task.

Lyra: You would normally keep the armed guards outside the party, to make sure no one would attack. Rifles to oversee a peace conference?

Joric: Did you say anything?

Lyra: When I tried to speak to the High Concordant, he brushed me off. “These were their ways, who are we to tell them how to live?” Vorak had stood near a service entrance, where the staff were walking through. I walked over and he let me know that they were not letting anyone leave the party.

Joric: Still, you said nothing?

Lyra: The locals were being cagy and none of the other Concordants were in their right state of mind. I went to speak with a guard, thinking it was perhaps a misunderstanding. As I started to walk over, the High Concordant began his speech. Beckoning everyone back to their seats.

Joric: What did you do at this point?

Lyra: I continued to go and speak to this guard who was denying exit from the room. I walked up to him and I asked if I could use the washroom. I saw a flinch of violence across his face, as he replied, that the guests were to be kept here so the speech could be heard by everyone. 

Joric: So what happened next?

Lyra: The High Concordant finished his speech, raised his glass, and said “To peace and harmony.” He looked to the governor who unceremoniously took a blaster, and shot the High Concordant. We all froze at the shock of it. None were more surprised than Rynce, who fell back in his chair and died with the look of… confusion… 

[Long sustained silence]

Joric: Are you alright?

Lyra: His eyes… I was twenty feet away, but he looked at me and I saw sadness and pity in his eyes. He had not seen it coming, but his look was that of resigned understanding. Like he knew this was inevitable. 

Joric: What happened after that?

Lyra: I assume the High Concordant’s death must have been the signal because as he sat back in his chair the room erupted with the sound of blaster fire and screams… Most of the concordants died trying to stand up and run. Those that did manage to avoid the first round of fire realized that the doors were locked.

Joric: So how did you escape?

Lyra: Vorak grabbed me and dragged me to the service door. A bolt hit me in the arm and I fell to the ground, trying to hide from their fire. I turned and saw Vorak planted himself in place using his body as a wall to block any fire. He looked at me and said only one word. Run. As he did, a blaster shot went right through his chest. Spraying blood on me. I didn't think, I just crawled as fast as I could.

Joric: Where did you go after that?

Lyra: I found a hatchway into the duct system, I opened it with my one good arm and pulled myself into it. I just sat there, listening to the screams echo through the vents, as my friends were slaughtered on the other side of the wall.

Joric: How long were you in there?

Lyra: I don't know, maybe a full cycle. When the screams stopped I finally tried to let myself relax, but I just kept seeing their faces. Rynce, Vorak. Eventually a maintenance technician found me and gave me the routes to sneak out of the town. I made contact with the severed fold and now I'm here.

Joric: Anything you want to add?

Lyra: Yes, the Concordia Society is no more. Their innocence and naivete will not last in this galaxy. Their message will not be forgotten. But it must evolve, we need to remember; who we are, who they are, and why we believe in peace in the first place.

Joric: So what will you be?

Lyra: We will be the Concord of Remembrance, so we can always remember what happened on this day and say. “Never Again!”