Narval realized that he was being goaded by his INOR allies to exacerbate the confrontation between the Regions. Noting the time, he decided to drop the first bombshell.
"We have been called together to prepare a course for the future," he rumbled, looking about with scorn. "Yet we of INOR sit here and quibble among ourselves, lacking a unified will to confront the UIPS directly and compel them to respect our demands. The circumstances of the times call for the raw strength of an iron fist, not for a press of beggars with outstretched, pleading palms."
"I take exception," President Straber of Titan leaned forward and waggled his finger at Narval. "We are a confederation of nation-states. Are you suggesting that we abdicate our sovereignty to a single authority? If we were to do that we face the same chaos that preceded the separation of the Regions. We of Titan would find that intolerable."
Narval seized the moment to pave the way for the supreme power he felt would soon be his. The message from Drummer would surely come within minutes.
"The old United Planetary System from which we broke away," he countered, "was based on so-called democratic principles and due process. The United Planetary System fell apart. The fragmented, international order that replaced it, this grotesque arrangement of nation-states, is equally ineffective and therefore obsolete. Our system of authority and governance must be raised above the antiquated, interminable rules of the desperate bickering we now witness here at play among us. I will personally impose such changes."
"Through tyranny?" Camari's words were dry as the desert winds of Mars.
Narval's eyes narrowed to slits of hatred as he glared at Camari. Damn, where was Drummer's message?
Camari continued in the same tone, confronting Narval directly, "I voice the profound hopes of the peoples of our diverse cultures, and yet, of our common species, that your threat is nothing but idle chatter."
He turned his head to right and left, taking in the others at the table.
"What say you, leaders of INOR, to this threat from a criminal let loose among us from Callisto? Will you yield to Narval your constitutional rights and authority so that he personally assumes the power to dictate to your nation and to your people?