With the Secretary-General coming, they could naturally not just wait here.
They went at once to where interstellar shuttles could berth.
Every one of them stood there like a good child, like a wife turned to stone watching for her husband, craning their necks for the honored guest's arrival.
At last, as they watched, they saw through the floor-to-ceiling window along one side of the hangar an interstellar fleet slowly approaching in the distant reaches of space.
This interstellar fleet's interstellar warships plainly did not belong to the Luohe Star Region.
And one look at the crests on these interstellar warships told them where they came from:
this was the Burns Enforcement Fleet of the Burns Interstellar Civilization!
At the sight of the Burns Enforcement Fleet, though there had been no contact yet, everyone present swallowed in spite of themselves, very nervous.
Mr. Weitz, for his part, stood there very proudly, pointing at his own side's enforcement fleet. "Do you see? Those are our Burns Interstellar Civilization's interstellar warships. Do you see those beautiful, majestic interstellar warships! The flagship is a T6-grade interstellar warship, no less! An interstellar warship you lower civilizations could never have in all your lives. But now, because of the wise choice you've made, you have the chance to embrace a higher civilization. You'll be fit to share with us in the light of the Burns Interstellar Civilization!"
The family clan heads beside him, listening to this Mr. Weitz's endless self-praise, did their best to put looks of envy and worship on their faces.
It was hard work for these old fellows; most likely they had smiled more here now than they smiled in a whole year in their own families.
It was hard on them, too, to bow and scrape like this.
Most likely their families' sons and daughters could never have imagined that the clan heads they had always seen as so stern would carry themselves here like women in a brothel touting for customers.
Very soon they saw the Burns Enforcement Fleet come to a hover very close to this interstellar warship.
Then they watched an interstellar shuttle fly out from the Burns Enforcement Fleet and come slowly toward their interstellar warship, then, guided by the pilot, settle smoothly onto the shuttle berth.
Kzzt.
As the shuttle came down, it threw up a wave of heat.
The crew who worked here were long used to it, but these family clan heads, pampered in their families as they were,
had never suffered this kind of thing; every one of them squinted, bearing the burning on their skin.
Yet still they dared not make any rash move, craning their necks here for the honored guest's arrival.
Before long, the hatch of this shuttle, printed with the Burns Interstellar Civilization's crest, opened.
Inside the shuttle's gate could be seen a squad of soldiers long ready, and a figure standing in their midst.
Then the squad of soldiers came down first, weapons in hand, looking for all the world as if they had come to collect a debt.
At other times, when one came as a guest aboard someone else's interstellar warship, soldiers would follow, but never so brazenly, weapons in hand.
This was plainly not very friendly; or else it was the manner of one above facing those below.
The families' clan heads naturally realized this, but not one of them dared show a sour face.
Their faces still beamed with smiles.
For they knew their own place very well: they were only T5 interstellar powers of the Luohe Star Region.
Before them was a representative of a T6 interstellar civilization; if he wanted to deal with them, he need only move a finger.
That T6-grade interstellar warship still hovering outside was a mighty thing they could look at but never reach.
That one interstellar warship alone could easily destroy one of their small fleets,
and leave with a brush of its backside.
That was what a vast gap in strength meant.
Now a figure came down.
This was the Burns Interstellar Civilization's Supreme Secretary-General.
"Greetings, Secretary-General." On seeing this lord Secretary-General, Mr. Weitz at once trotted eagerly forward to bow.
Others might not know how important this lord Secretary-General was to the Burns Interstellar Civilization;
could he not know?
Here, before these family clan heads, he could swagger and show off his might.
But before this Secretary-General he was nothing but a small fry; a single word from him, and he might never see the next day's sun.
So naturally he had to put on a most respectful air.
Seeing this, the other family clan heads at once bowed one after another.
Never mind who this Secretary-General was: they could not afford to offend this Mr. Weitz, and if this Mr. Weitz was so respectful to this envoy come from the Burns Interstellar Civilization,
then they naturally could not afford to offend him either.
"Greetings, Lord Burns Secretary-General." Mr. Weitz greeted him with a fawning, apologetic smile.
But the Secretary-General's face at that moment was very grim; looking at Weitz before him, he was furious from every direction at once.
All because of this fellow, who had dared do something so suicidal.
Had there not been outsiders present, he would truly have liked to cut this bastard into ten thousand pieces right here!
"Weitz! I am ordered to arrest you and take you back to Burns!" the Secretary-General said with a black face, his voice low.
As the words fell, the soldiers behind him understood at once, stepped up, and without the least ceremony pinned this Weitz to the floor.
Then they put restraints on this Weitz, binding his hands and feet.
The scene left everyone present staring.
Wasn't something a bit off about the way this was playing out?
Why would Mr. Weitz be seized by this Secretary-General from the Burns Interstellar Civilization?
Shouldn't the two sides have greeted each other warmly, the other side put on a few airs, and after an exchange of pleasantries a banquet been laid on to entertain him?
And if he wanted it, found a few beautiful women to give this Secretary-General?
None of this was going as they had imagined!
"Huh? What's going on? Why arrest me? What crime have I committed?" Weitz himself was dumbfounded now; he had never in his life imagined this Secretary-General would pull such a thing on him at a time like this.
"What crime? Hmph. Moving troops without Lord Consul's permission, using force abroad. You can wait for a court-martial!" the Secretary-General rebuked him, glaring at this damned fellow.
Had procedure not had to be followed, he felt that putting this fellow before a court-martial was a sheer waste of time.
"What? A court-martial? Moving troops without permission? Secretary-General, you must be mistaken. When I moved the troops this time, I had the Supreme Consul's permission!" Hearing this, Mr. Weitz did not get angry, but began to explain,
sure there must be a misunderstanding somewhere.
It must be so: weren't all his doings here in the Luohe Star Region arranged from above?
"Nonsense; it was Lord Supreme Consul himself who ordered your arrest. Are you trying to say Lord Supreme Consul gave you the order himself and has now forgotten it? I now have the right to suspect you of using unlawful means to forge Lord Supreme Consul's warrant and move military fleets on your own! Men, seal his mouth for me. Take him back to await judgment!" the Secretary-General ordered at once, giving Weitz no chance to speak again.
He had nearly overlooked that: this fellow's crimes had long since been agreed between Lord Consul and several others,
but to escape wagging tongues, this fellow still could not be allowed to talk freely.
Once he had him back, he could use some drugs to poison this fellow into a mute outright… or simply make him an idiot?
While the Secretary-General was still turning these things over in his mind,
the soldiers had already put a muzzle over Weitz's mouth too,
so that he could not get a word out.
Then the soldiers marched him toward the shuttle.
"Mmph, mmph, mmph… mmph, mmph, mmph… mmph, mmph, mmph……" Weitz tried in panic to explain, but his mouth was stopped up, and he could not speak at all.
His feet struggled against the floor without stopping; as he was about to be put aboard the shuttle, he even hooked his foot round something beside him, trying to keep his body from being dragged in.
He had a feeling that once he boarded this shuttle, he might never come off it.
But he was a fish on someone else's chopping board now, with no chance at all to struggle.
Several soldiers, without the least ceremony, went up and simply twisted this Weitz's legs until they broke.
"Mmph, mmph, mmph, mmph……" Weitz wanted to scream with the pain; his forehead was covered in sweat from it.
But he had no power at all to break free of his bonds now.
He could only watch helplessly as his body was put into this shuttle.
The scene left the four family clan heads around him at a loss what to do, sweat breaking out on their foreheads too.
What on earth was going on?
How had things come to this? They could make nothing of it; it was already beyond any plan they had imagined.
The Xie family's clan head was the first who could not hold back; he went up and looked fawningly at this Secretary-General from the Burns Interstellar Civilization before him, and said carefully, "Lord Secretary-General, isn't there, perhaps, some misunderstanding here? We have indeed opened cooperation with your Burns Interstellar Civilization. We're to set up an interstellar federation in the Luohe Star Region, to serve the Burns Interstellar Civilization in every way! We'll be the Burns Interstellar Civilization's most loyal ally. Mr. Weitz stayed on in our Luohe Star Region precisely for this cooperation."
The Secretary-General looked coldly at the man.
These fellows still had no idea at all how wrong a thing they had done, or what a master they had provoked who ought never to have been provoked.
They were a hot potato now; no one at all dared take them.
Their Burns Interstellar Civilization would not take them either.
The Secretary-General said coldly, "We never promised any such thing. This was all Weitz acting on his own; he's now been arrested by the Supreme Consul's order. What comes after can wait until we've tried him back home. As for us and your few families, we have nothing to do with each other: do you hear me! If we hear any rumors outside about you and us, don't blame our Burns Interstellar Civilization for not being gentle with you."
"But… but… then the situation now……" The Xie family's clan head was greatly astonished; he had not expected this secretary-officer from the Burns Interstellar Civilization to take such an attitude.
The Secretary-General went on in a scornful voice, "What situation? You mean those legion fleets from the Burns Interstellar Civilization? That was all the criminal Weitz forging the Supreme Consul's warrant and moving military forces without leave. I'll take them all back now. They never ought to have appeared here at all; one could even say they never appeared in the Luohe Star Region."
Those last words were in fact what the secretary-officer truly thought, and what he hoped could be made true.
For because of this business, their Burns Interstellar Civilization had left a bad impression with that lordship.
With that, the Secretary-General made to walk back to the shuttle.
But how could the Xie family's clan head stand by and watch things turn out like this?
If those legion fleets of the Burns Interstellar Civilization were withdrawn now, their families' whole plan here would collapse!
For the Luohe Kingdom opposite had a great mountain to lean on now, some powerful interstellar legion fleet got from who knew where.
On their families' strength alone, they were no match for it at all.
The Burns Interstellar Civilization was their last support.
If the Burns Interstellar Civilization abandoned them now, their fate was already sealed.
"Lord Secretary-General, you can't abandon us like this. We have a partnership. We're allies. I've visited the Burns Interstellar Civilization's universe myself before. There must be some misunderstanding in this; there must be a misunderstanding! Give me a little time; I'll leave for the Burns Interstellar Civilization right now." The Xie family's clan head planted himself in front of the Secretary-General, pleading.
The Secretary-General looked coldly at the Xie family's clan head before him. "Old fellow, let me give you a word of advice. Don't waste your strength. Whatever you do will be no use; there isn't a single power in the Burns Interstellar Civilization now that's willing to deal with you or help you. If anyone dares work with you, that's betraying our Burns Interstellar Civilization. Do you understand! Now get out of my way."
Without the least ceremony, the Secretary-General raised his foot and kicked the Xie family's clan head aside.
He had no wish to stay here a moment longer; if he stayed too long and gave that lordship the wrong idea,
he would have a hard time explaining it.
Leave quickly, leave quickly.
At the very thought, the Secretary-General's steps quickened a good deal.
Very soon he had boarded the shuttle.
The Xie family's clan head and the others could only stand by helplessly as the shuttle carrying their hopes sped away,
leaving at a speed as if there were something filthy here!
Inside the shuttle,
the Secretary-General looked at Weitz, bound and imprisoned, struggling without stop.
He said nothing more, and sat there in silence.
Weitz had not lied; every word he had said was true.
In the Secretary-General's investigation, this military operation against the Luohe Star Region had in fact been approved by Lord Supreme Consul.
And there had been a related plan to set up a puppet government in the Luohe Star Region; even the scheme had already been drawn up.
But all of it had changed not long ago,
from the moment that man visited the Burns Interstellar Civilization.
It had been settled then that everything would be turned upside down.
Once they had made their decision, as he, the secretary-officer, was getting ready to come to the Luohe Star Region and clean up the mess,
he had known that Lord Supreme Consul had already ordered every order concerning this operation against the Luohe Star Region cleaned away, paper documents and electronic files alike, all wiped clean.
Of those who knew of the matter, the low-ranking were silenced permanently, outright.
Those with a little backing had the upper ranks of their families come forward to warn them, and were then all packed off to remote star systems; whether they could come back in their lifetimes would depend on their families' maneuvering.
As for the families that knew of the matter, took part in it, and had made some investment in it,
the Supreme Consul came forward himself to tell them how things stood now,
and let them know clearly what they should do now.
The old fellows of those families were every one of them old foxes; they knew very well what they should do.
Setting up a puppet government in the Luohe Star Region could have brought them no small gain.
But they knew very well too that, set against that gain, standing opposed to the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire was a very poor bargain.
And for this whole affair, as things stood now, someone had to be pushed forward to bear the blame for these errors.
As for whether the Burns Supreme Consul had in fact agreed to send the interstellar legion fleets, that no longer mattered.
For so long as the Burns Supreme Consul said he had not sent them, he had not.
Those below would not, at a time like this, foolishly go looking for trouble.
After the Supreme Consul had smoothed things over, their story would all be the same:
all of this had been cooked up by that fellow Weitz alone; deceiving those above and hiding things from those below, with the little power in his hands he had plotted so great an affair.
As for the family behind Weitz,
the Burns Supreme Consul went to their door himself and talked with the fellow's clan head for several hours.
After the Burns Supreme Consul left, that family announced its withdrawal from all cross-universe affairs,
and declared that Weitz was indeed the criminal in this matter, and that it had all been Weitz's own doing, nothing to do with the family.
But as a son of the family, the family bore some responsibility too, so the family was willing to accept any punishment.
As for punishment, the Burns Supreme Consul handed out only some, as a formality.
And for the next three years the family kept a very low profile.
It looked as if it had been brought down.
But in fact only insiders knew:
this family's power was no small one either, and to keep this family steady, so that they would be willing to swallow the loss and give up Weitz,
the Burns Supreme Consul had at the same time quietly handed some very profitable projects to this family.