He paused to wet his lips.
“What is more, even if I could, with this many people present, simple time parameters dictate that not everyone who wants to speak would be able to.”
Mentally he crossed his fingers.
“It is therefore my decision,” he announced, “that for the duration of this discussion, I will not recognize speakers from the floor. Instead, I will call upon specific captains whom I feel are most representative of the feelings I have heard expressed over the last several months and let them speak for the fleet.”
A low growl of disapproval rose from the assemblage.
“If you are called upon and have nothing to say or feel someone else can say it better,” he continued, ignoring the protests, “you may yield the floor to a speaker of your choice. However, independent outbursts or interruptions will not be tolerated. Do I make myself clear?”
A sea of angry eyes glared back at him from the viewscreen, but no one chose to challenge him openly.
“Good.” He nodded. “Our first speaker will be Pepe, captain of the Raven. Pepe, if you were to be the only speaker for the fleet, how would you describe the current views of the Defense Alliance?”
The swarthy little captain rose slowly to his feet, eyes downcast and brow furrowed as he struggled to organize his thoughts. The crowed waited in patient silence until he was ready to begin.
“The Defense Alliance… is not a good thing for us,” Pepe managed finally. “We’ve got a whole bunch of ships there who do nothing-nothing but chase us away from planets we’re supposed to be protecting. That’s bad for business. How are we going to do our jobs if we’ve always got to be watching the screens for Alliance ships, eh?”