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EP: 58:83 : “Suj Kossi Special Part Two: The Opposition”

ERIA QUINT: Hello and welcome to another edition of Showdown – where we tackle all issues dominating the Empire from two different perspectives. I’m your host, Eria Quint. Almost half a year ago, Suj Kossi announced his intention to run for UEE Senate, a campaign that, if successful, would make him the first Tevarin senator in the history of the Empire. Since Kossi’s announcement, he’s been faced with a whirlwind of reactions. While some have applauded the Army and Navy veteran as a role model for the Tevarin community, others have been reticent, fearing that the ambitious candidate’s intentions may not be entirely honorable.

Our last show featured two guests who, while both supporters of Kossi’s campaign, did so for different reasons. In the second part of our series, today’s guests represent the opposition, but again, do so from two very different points of view.

Our first guest is Quentin Koffler, freelance journalist and speaker.

QUENTIN KOFFLER: Hello, Ms. Quint.

ERIA QUINT: And Riv Qotol, activist and member of Ori Tei, an organization dedicated to, and I quote, “the liberation of the Tevarin.”

RIV QOTOL: Yes.

ERIA QUINT: Mr. Qotol, I’d like to clarify something for our audience, when you say liberation, does that mean your organization advocates violent insurrection?

RIV QOTOL: That is a common misconception. Ori Tei has consistently decried violent actions done in its name.

QUENTIN KOFFLER: Here we go.

ERIA QUINT: I would think that a Tevarin candidate would be something that your organization would embrace.

RIV QOTOL: No. Suj Kossi’s attempt to become a part of the institution that destroyed his culture is simply a sign of how oppressed the Tevarin have become. Believing that political service is something to aspire to, or something that we should celebrate, is sad.

ERIA QUINT: Mr. Koffler, you have written a series of increasingly inflammatory attacks against Suj Kossi, calling his military record into question and insinuating that he is actually an infiltrator.

QUENTIN KOFFLER: I never used that word.

ERIA QUINT: Then please, explain.

QUENTIN KOFFLER: I was simply raising the question of whether the novelty of a Tevarin senator is overshadowing his qualifications. I mean, here is an individual with a self-professed criminal background attempting to represent Human beings in one of the highest political positions in the Empire. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to question his intentions.

RIV QOTOL: Koffler has perfectly encapsulated why the Tevarin should abandon this infected carcass of an Empire. Kossi can’t seem to grasp that he will never be anything but a criminal and a joke to these people.

QUENTIN KOFFLER: To be fair, what percentage of Tevarin are actively engaged in illegal activity?

RIV QOTOL: Another example of the casual intolerance we face. My people are angry. We have been subjugated to live in a society that despises us, that tried to wipe us out. What you’re seeing is not criminality; it’s a desire to break free. It’s a sign that the spirit of the Tevarin is not as crushed as you would like to believe.

QUENTIN KOFFLER: Call it what you want.

ERIA QUINT: But some of Kossi’s political ambitions align with yours and that of Ori Tei. During a campaign rally last week in Gotria, he spoke about “rebuilding the beauty of Tevarin culture” and outlined a plan to establish the cities in the recently discovered Kabal System as historical sites and a cultural center.

RIV QOTOL: For what? To put them on display for Humans to marvel at? That is not culture, it is taxidermy. These cities should be given back to us.

QUENTIN KOFFLER: Yeah. That’s not going to happen.

RIV QOTOL: For once, I believe we agree.

ERIA QUINT: We’re going to take a quick break to reload and when we come back, we’ll continue our discussion about security concerns in the historic campaign of Suj Kossi.

This is Showdown!