"Of course Senator Oriel. I would be more than happy to explain why the ship and its crew was detained. It was captured attempting to smuggle Vjun Tunics onto Volus which were outlawed by our prefecture as a part of an environmental campaign pledging to keep Volus clean and prosperous. As the materials were considered contraband the crew of the ship was arrested on the charge of attempting to smuggle in the Volus system.

Now, Senator Oriel, as I have finished our explanation I have questions for you, which Volus feels we are justified in asking.

Firstly, and I might add most importantly, The ship, during a routine inventorying, was found to be carrying several scans seemingly directed specifically at a ship in our defense fleet. It was found not in the computer database but instead on a datachip which had been hidden deliberately. This constitutes the most fundamental definition of Espionage, the charge of which has been added onto the list of those mentioned above. I would inquire as to why the people of Vjun felt it necessary to conduct an act of war against the people of Volus by attempting to spy on a fellow member of the Galactic Empire. If these men were employed by the Baron of Shenton then Volus demands the man's immediate arrest and handover to Volus for trial on conspiracy to commit espionage.

Secondly, Senator, how did you personally come by this information? After all I wasn't aware that the information had been made public as of yet even on Volus. I know you had absolutely nothing to do with this act of espionage against a fellow Imperial world after you have made such grand overtures of unity in this very body, but it is curious at best that you have this information so soon after the incident in question.

Thirdly, we would also like to make the baron aware that we will be pursuing all legal actions against him for his attempt to smuggle contraband materials onto our planet.

While Vjun is not privy to specific data, Baron Shenton informs me it is Captain Thomas' habit to download a scan of each system he visited onto a data chip, so as to have a hard copy for his records in case of a computer failiure. I am reliably informed that he should have many such scans in his possession, such as those of Vjun and the other systems his ship had moved through." Oriel spoke correctly in this case as the Captain had indeed done so (as stated in the thread). Equally, the chip with the scan was not hidden, the chip which was hidden was a chip of amateur pornography made in a brothel in Bitter End, nothing illegal however. "And if I am not much mistaken, the Doom Raven carries only a civilian scanner, I think it unlikely that any data it might have onboard would be any use to any spy, so the suggestion is a nonsense anyway."

"Baron Shenton informed me this morning that a garbled distress pulse was recieved before being jammed, it seems unlikely that in such a small system as yours any other fate but the piratical acts of your own forces could be responsible."

"As has been stated, no espionage has been committed, only an unjust seizure of a Vjunite cargo vessel carrying Imperial Citizens and a legitimate cargo. Vjun would like to warn that it does not take any options off the table and will take every legal action at our disposal to release this ship, its crew and cargo unharmed."

At the Anaxes Embassy on Volus, many of the senior diplomats there wear tunics which are fashioned by the weavers of Vjun, who create, if I may say so, some of the finest fabric in the galaxy. Does the Volusian Government propose to allow these tunics already on Volus? Does the Volusian Government plan to prosecute all the stores which presently vend these items?

Equally, one can hardly accuse a ship travelling under an activated tranciever and agreeing to all searches and protocols to be "smuggling" anything?

I reinforce Senator Oriel's questions regarding a grace period and also regarding Volus failing to publish its laws. The Anaxes Ambassador on Volus informs me that he has been made aware of no such new law.

As for the alleged espionage, that is a matter for the courts to decide. Not the Senate. I would remind Senator Star that implying these men who have been accused of espionage of being guilty, risks prosecution herself for slander, should they be found innocent.

However, the reason for the outlawing of the tunics, among, I am told, hundreds of other items, are chemicals used in their production tend to render Volusian soil infertile for planting and may even cause serious harm to a large number of our natural wildlife. This bill was not proposed lightly and took a long time to work its way through various committees in the Volusian Prefecture. They were deemed to be a viable bio-hazard on Volus, and as such were banned from being within our systems. They were expected to be removed within 10 days of the law passing so essentially your ship was beyond the grace period which had been given and as such was detained.

As for the chip, it showed a specific interest in a single vessel in our fleet and only briefly touched on anything else. The intent of espionage was clear here senator and for that reason the charge is on the crew of the ship. These materials and the ship itself will remain in Volus custody until a trial of the accused has been held and if they are acquitted of all charges then they will be allowed to return to their ship and to Vjun space. However, if they are found guilty they will be imprisoned for a term specified by the law, and the ship will likely be auctioned off as property of the planet.

Your claim regarding your wildlife is fallacious. The Vjun tunic is composed of similar fabrics to most others in the galaxy, there is no reason why they would be any more damaging than a silk or armourweave fabric would be.. this is simply a case of Volus attempting to attack the people of Vjun, and while we may not be able to prevent Volus' piracy of our vessels, we will lobby our extensive contacts within the core and rim to place an embargo or boycott on your goods, until the private property of our citizen is returned.

Whether the crew is guilty of espionage or not, the vessel is not owned by the crew, the vessel is owned by a man who seeks to turn a profit to help his poor tenants redevelop their land in the aftermath of a plague.. by stealing his possessions, you prevent this. I hardly think it likely that the Baron Shenton (an 89 year old gentleman) is likely to be involved in any espionage of any sort, he is a well known philanthropist and lover of the people of Vjun, I am disappointed to see you slight Vjun, and Him, in this manner.

As for why notifications weren't sent to other worlds. Due to the extensive list of such thing being prohibited by this law on Volus individual planets were not notified due to the long list of such things. However we would be more than happy to post a complete copy of the bill available for review as it is a public document easily available upon request.

The environmental concerns were taken after the results of several scientific studies were conducted on Volus as to the possible effects on Volusian wildlife and soil. Upon the completion of the study a list of recommendations were made to the prefecture, who acted in the best interest of the Volusian people by outlawing a majority of the items on the list. Of course we would also be willing to make this study available to you as well Senator Oriel. If you wish to place embargoes that is your business but the people of volus bare the people of Vjun and have only acted in the best interests of our people, for which we will not apologize.

The vessel itself once again was used in the commission of a crime and has therefore been impounded and upon conviction said owner ship will go to the government of Volus who will then sell the vessel at auction as is customary for seized and impounded vehicles. It is unfortunate that the Baron had to have his people use the ship to allegedly commit several crimes against the people of Volus, but the law senator can not be ignored as much as you wish to.

I would also, demand that Vjun apologizes for attempting to slander the name of Volus by asserting that we acted illegally in protecting our system and that this was an act of Piracy when in truth it was an act to protect our citizens and the environment of Volus.

Equally, no law has been published to date at all (outside of Volus) and as you state, thousands of items are mentioned, in this case why was not a galaxy wide notification published? Why was not an address to the senate been made regarding the prohibition of these items.

I call upon Senator Star to publish this list in full, to prevent further situations such as this. The vessel was used in the commission of a crime, and I stand by my statements, this is a simple case of piracy by Volus. Noone from off Volus has heard of this ridiculous new legislation, noone has been informed... Volus evidently seeks to damage the economic wellbeing of other worlds.

Frankly, as you admit, the crew had no idea that Vjun tunics were illegal on Volus. That being the case, how can they be guilty of smuggling when they carry the cargo openly?

This seems like the law was conveniently "invented" in order to steal shipments of goods from Vjun and others. If this is not the case, then Volus should return the ship and its cargo, intact, and we will allow for the trial of the individuals in question and the extradition of Baron Shenton for trial, however, to rob the humble weavers of Vjun of their income is a disgusting act of aggression against people who have already suffered so much.

Until further notice, Vjun designates Volus as an area unsafe for travel, and issues a warning that its citizens may suffer further acts of piracy.

Frankly, to confiscate the private property of an uninvolved man (such as the cargo) is completely unjust. Even if the ship was used in the commission of some alleged crime, the cargo most certainly belongs to the man, and was never landed on Volus... As such he should have his cargo returned to him.

We also will warn all vessels passing through our space bound for Volus that their vessels may be seized on the basis of new laws which have not yet been published. And as such we will advise them to avoid Volus until a full list of prohibited items (under the new laws) are published.

And as I have said Senator Oriel, these will be matters for the Volusian courts to decide, and of course the trials will be more than open and fair as is the right of every Imperial Citizen. In fact if you so wish, The government of Volus will provide funding for legal counsel that you or the people of Vjun may select. And if it is your desire you may send an observer to make sure the law is being fairly applied to these individuals."

I still call for the release of the private property of Baron Shenton, regardless of any actions by the crew, i'd not see people suffer fiscal hardship because of the possible actions of a pair of crewmen, and if this effects the ability of the old baron to feed his tenants, then it is an unquestionably evil thing to keep his property held from him.

Anaxes believes in the right of worlds to trade freely and without let or obstruction by planets who seek to prohibit such common items. The Dye used in Vjunite Tunics is used in many products on Anaxes... I would like to see clarification of the specific chemical which is prohibited so we are able to modify products heading for Volus accordingly.

I look forward to seeing this trial progress, but again call on Volus to return Baron Shenton's property, so that he might sell it elsewhere and help his people.

Let us take a step back from the aggressive rhetoric which has become common between Senators Star and Oriel, and consider what is the most just and utilitarian outcome, then seek to pursue it with alacrity, instead of pursuing jingoistic planetary objectives.. let us consider the people we serve, and our noblesse oblige to them.

Once full details emerge of the prohibited substances, I would urge Vjun to consider the composition of its tunics so it might produce suitable exports for Volus. I also urge Vjun to reconsider its embargo on Volus after these are published.

Composition :
cotton : 60 % - No chemicals are involved in Cotton Production, which takes place on Veda, from there the finest Veda cloth is shipped to Vjun to be woven into the garment which is the Vjun Tunic.
silk : 30 % - No chemicals are involved in Silk Production process which takes place on Vjun itself using the finest Aeien silk worms, as has been done for generations.
cashemere : 10 % - Only conventional de-greasers and natural detergents are involved in the creation of Cashmere, which is sourced only from Endorian Goats.

The tunic itself is produced, as you can see, with few to no chemicals at all, with the price of the Vjun tunic being generated by the time consuming nature of the fine hand woven fabric production process, and the level of skill required to perform such a process (only Master and Journeyman weavers work is allowed to be called a "Vjun Tunic". Many tunics are one time works of art made to the measurements and requirements of a commissioner.

Once produced, the product may be dyed any colour depending on the choice of the purchaser. These dyes are naturally sourced from worlds across the galaxy, and this contributes to the extensive price of the tunic. Again due to the value of the tunics, only a Master or Journeyman Dyer may dye these items, and stringent standards are observed to assure we only use the most natural and safe ingredients.

Please explain which material or chemical used in this production process is illegal on Volus? Or are you saying any item with 60% Cotton, 30% Silk, 10% Cashmere is prohibited?

Vjun agrees to remove its present block on trade with Volus once this has been clarified, it is unfair to ban "Vjun Tunics" without stating what makes them illegal, so that we may configure them to make them legal in your jurisdiction.

Senator Ordan, As of right now that ship is classified as evidence in an ongoing investigation and will not be returned for as long as it is listed as such. However, when a change in classification is made, after the trial for instance, if there are no pressing concerns we will make to commitment to return the ship to Vjun at the earliest possible opportunity.