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“As I already said, the reasons for the resignation were covered in the speech. Given that this has been in the works for several months, it is unlikely that the tragedy of Tezwa had any impact one way or the other. As for your second question, relations with Chancellor Martok’s government are as strong as ever. Regia?”

A human woman from the Federation News Service asked, “If this was in the works for months, why haven’t we heard anything about it?”

At this, Kant smiled. “Do you really think the president would have been able to accomplish anything for the last few weeks if everyone knew he was resigning? Secrecy was necessary to allow him to continue to do the job properly until the time was right to announce the resignation.”

He was about to call on another reporter, but Regia wasn’t finished. “C’mon, Jorel, there are always leaks, but this came out of nowhere. Does the Zife administration really think that it’s a good idea to suddenly announce a vacuum in power without giving anyone in the Federation time to adequately prepare for it?”

“You only think there are always leaks because we provide them periodically. Don’t underestimate our ability to fool you guys.” Some laughter went throughout the room. Kant then turned to one of the static-laden images, as much to get it out of the way as anything. “Regradnischrak?”

A two-second delay, then: “That’s Regradnischrak,” the reporter from Sebrotnizskeapoierf said. It always made that correction, even though Kant had never been able to determine the difference between Regradnischrak’s pronunciation and Kant’s own. It came from the rather distant world of Antares VIII or, as they called it, Grilasdixraksirvek. “Will any of the candidates be addressing the issue of alternative sources for faster-than-light travel, and will they be coming to Antares to speak to the issue?”

Kant sighed, having seen that one coming. Some Antarean scientists claimed they had come up with a new, more efficient way to travel faster than light that didn’t come with the inherent risks of matter-antimatter annihilation. Kant knew this because Sebrotnizskeapoierf had taken up this cause célčbre, and so where once Regradnischrak would have asked substantive questions, now it just harped on this to the exclusion of all else. “You’d have to ask them.” He gazed around the room to see if any of the other crackpots were in the room before going back to real news sources, saw none, and so called on a man from Bolarus and You. “Sovan?”

“Starfleet sources say Admiral Ross has said that he has no interest in running for high office. Does the council have a comment on that?”

“Someone submitted the admiral’s name, though I can’t say who, as such submissions are confidential. The council deemed him worthy of the honor. From this point, it’s up to the admiral to decide if he’s going to take them up on it, and if he says yes, it’s up to the voters if they think it’s a good idea. But, as you may have gathered from the fact that I didn’t provide one, Admiral Ross has not yet made a statement accepting or declining candidacy. Kav?”

The stocky Tellarite cleared his throat. “Does the council have any comment on the rumor that the Ontailians are once again considering leaving the Federation?”

Again, Kant sighed. Damned Tellarites. “Kav, how long have you been covering the council for the Tellar News Service?”

“Seven years.”

“Which means you’ve been here for the two and a half years that I’ve been running this particular room, right?”

“Of course.”

“In all that time, have I ever passed on a comment from the council, the president, or any of their staff addressing a rumor?”

This got more laughs, though Kav was not among the amused. “Not to my knowledge, no.”

“That answers your question, then. T’Nira?”

Before the Vulcan reporter could ask her question, Zhres handed him a padd. Its display simply contained the words ADMIRAL ROSS’S STATEMENT, with a glowing box next to it. He gave the Vulcan reporter an apologetic look as he applied his thumb to the box.

“Hang