"Right, then I will make my position clear," Kaiden began, his voice already rising as he looked directly toward Beau. "My party and the rest of our bloc do not support your request for additional funding because you have provided no substantial evidence that your department has accomplished anything worth the amount of money you are demanding." He slammed one hand against the podium for emphasis, seemingly convinced that the entire chamber was finally listening to the truth he had been trying to expose. "You are essentially asking us to trust you, and that is everything that is wrong with the European Union!"
Kaiden's voice became louder as he continued, apparently forgetting that the entire session was being broadcast to the public. "You are not transparent, you hide information from the people who elected us, and you expect Parliament to simply hand you more money without explaining where everything has gone." His face was becoming increasingly red, and several members began exchanging uncomfortable looks as they watched him work himself into a frenzy. "If this entire institution were dissolved, every country would be better off, and we could all return to the good old days before Brussels tried to control everything!"
He pointed directly toward Beau, nearly shouting the final part of his speech. "Now I order you to reveal everything you are hiding right now because you are deliberately withholding information from us and betraying the trust of the people!" By this point, Kaiden was so furious that he was practically frothing at the mouth, although whether that was from genuine anger or simply the effort he was putting into his speech was difficult to determine. Beau, meanwhile, remained completely calm as he waited for Kaiden to finish.
"Right, thank you for your criticism, and also for straying considerably from the issue at hand," Beau replied with a warm smile. He made no attempt to hide the fact that Kaiden's outburst had not bothered him in the slightest, which only seemed to make the separatist more irritated. "However, let me make something very clear: I came here to request additional funding for my department, not to stand before Parliament and reveal every classified project currently being conducted by the European Union."
Beau folded his hands in front of himself before continuing. "I have the authority to withhold information when the cabinet and I determine that revealing it would be harmful to Europe, especially when the information concerns technology or research that could provide our enemies with an advantage." He deliberately emphasized the final words because they were the simplest justification for his position. "It is sometimes better to keep a few of our cards hidden so that our enemies are left in the dark about what we are developing."
He looked toward the chamber with a calm expression. "I therefore believe that the European people will forgive us for not being completely forthcoming at this particular moment." Beau's smile widened slightly as he noticed Kaiden's expression becoming even angrier. "I can promise, however, that we will announce all necessary information according to the law when the appropriate time comes and when we are confident that doing so will not endanger Europe."
Kaiden stared at him for several seconds before finally speaking again. "Are you finished avoiding the question?" he demanded. Beau merely raised an eyebrow, already expecting another demand. "Do you have another question, Mister Matthews?" he asked, deliberately using the man's formal title.
"Yes," Kaiden answered immediately. "I want access to everything you are currently hiding." His tone was forceful enough to make it sound less like a request and more like an order. "I understand that you cannot say everything out loud while all these cameras are recording, so I want access to the information behind closed doors."
Beau did not even have to answer. Across the chamber, President Isaac Aiken slowly stood from his seat with a sigh, having clearly decided that he had heard enough. He had expected Kaiden to return to his usual antics sooner or later, particularly after the investigation into his political connections had concluded. The request for classified information had simply provided Isaac with the perfect opportunity to remind everyone why Kaiden was not entitled to see it.
"Yes, Mr. President?" Nadia asked as she recognized that Isaac wanted to speak. She immediately granted him the floor, and Beau gave the President a grateful smile as he stepped forward. The chamber quieted almost instantly because everyone understood that Isaac rarely interrupted a minister during a parliamentary discussion unless he had something important to say. Kaiden, however, seemed unaware of what was coming.
"Do I need to remind you, Mister Matthews, that an investigation into your connections with the corrupt leaders of several European nations was only recently concluded?" Isaac asked. His voice was calm, but there was enough steel behind his words to make the entire chamber pay attention. "That investigation was closed only because the investigators did not have enough information to continue pursuing the matter, not because they determined that your connections were harmless."
Kaiden's expression changed immediately, but Isaac continued before he could interrupt. "Your security clearance is therefore nowhere near high enough to grant you access to the kind of information you are requesting." Isaac paused briefly before adding the part that made several members of Parliament struggle to keep straight faces. "That alone would be enough to settle this matter, but unfortunately for you, there is another problem."
Isaac looked directly at Kaiden. "You and most of your party have not signed the full employment contract with the European state." The chamber became unusually quiet for a moment as Kaiden realized where this was going. "That means you cannot access sensitive European information at all, regardless of whether you are a member of Parliament."
Isaac then gestured toward Kaiden's seat. "The only reason you are sitting there today is because the elections have not yet taken place and the upper chamber is still reviewing the legislation concerning whether someone who refuses to sign that contract is even permitted to serve as a member of the European Parliament." His expression remained completely serious despite the growing amusement around him. "So no, Mister Matthews, you do not have access to the information you are demanding."
Isaac turned toward Nadia. "That will be all, Madam Speaker." He then calmly sat down again, leaving Kaiden standing at the podium with an expression that suggested he had just been struck in the face. For several seconds, nobody in the chamber said anything because the members were trying desperately to suppress their laughter. Eventually, a few people covered their mouths as they began quietly chuckling.
The situation was particularly amusing because it was not a secret among the members of Parliament that Kaiden's bloc had refused to sign the contracts. They had deliberately avoided doing so because they did not want to bind themselves to an institution they fundamentally opposed. Their argument had always been that signing such a contract would effectively mean accepting the European state as their legitimate employer and acknowledging obligations toward the European Union that they did not believe should exist.
The irony was that the refusal had now come back to haunt them. A bill was currently being reviewed by the upper chamber that would require elected members of the European Parliament to sign the same contracts before being sworn in or be denied the privilege of being a member. The proposal was expected to pass with almost unanimous support because the members of Parliament handled enormous amounts of sensitive information every day. Allowing elected officials to access that information without accepting the same obligations as everyone else had therefore been considered an unnecessary security risk.
There was another reason the contract had become politically important. The agreement did not merely provide employment status; it also demonstrated that the person signing it had accepted responsibility for the future of Europe. The contract bound the individual to the European state and gave the public a legal guarantee that their representatives had accepted certain responsibilities. For most politicians, signing it was therefore both a security requirement and a declaration that they were genuinely committed to the future of Europe.
The fact that Kaiden's bloc had refused to sign was therefore embarrassing enough on its own. However, it was especially damaging because the general public had not known about it until that moment. The parliamentary session was being streamed live throughout Europe, meaning that millions of people had just watched the President publicly explain that an entire political bloc was demanding access to classified information while refusing to accept the obligations required to receive it. The news organizations immediately recognized the significance of the exchange.
Within the hour, reports about Kaiden's confrontation with the President were appearing across European news networks. Commentators repeatedly discussed his refusal to sign the European employment contract and his demand for access to classified information. Social media discussions quickly became even more aggressive, although fewer people were spending time online than they had before mana changed the world. Despite that reduced activity, the conversation surrounding Kaiden still spread rapidly because his political reputation was already extremely poor.
The resulting online backlash was overwhelmingly against him. People accused Kaiden and his supporters of betraying Europe while simultaneously demanding access to information they had no legal right to see. Others pointed out that his bloc had repeatedly criticized the European Union for being secretive while refusing to accept the legal responsibilities that would have allowed them to participate more fully in the system. The contradiction was so obvious that even some people who supported greater national independence found themselves distancing themselves from Kaiden personally.
"Thank you for that insightful speech, Mr. President," Nadia said, clearly enjoying the situation more than she had expected. She glanced toward Kaiden, who was still standing at the podium with his teeth clenched and his face bright red from anger. "Does Mister Kaiden have anything else to say, or can we finally move on?"
"No more questions," Kaiden answered through gritted teeth. His voice was noticeably quieter than before, but the anger behind it was impossible to miss. He returned to his seat while doing his best to maintain what remained of his dignity. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done, and everyone in the chamber knew it.
Kaiden understood that he had just created a serious problem for himself. His political movement had already been losing support, largely because he had become the public face of the separatist bloc while several of the national leaders who had supported it were being investigated for crimes against humanity. With those leaders facing prosecution and his entire political bloc under increased scrutiny, many of their supporters had already begun abandoning them. Today's confrontation had only accelerated that decline.
His prospects for reelection now looked extremely poor. The public had watched him demand classified information from the government while being informed that he lacked the necessary security clearance and had refused to sign the very contract that would have made him eligible for such access. For a politician whose entire career depended upon convincing people that he could protect their national interests, being publicly exposed as someone who could not even obtain access to the information he demanded was disastrous.
Kaiden's movement itself might survive, but he could no longer be certain that he would. He knew there were still countries outside Europe that supported the separatist cause, and that knowledge gave him some confidence that the movement would not disappear overnight. If he failed to win reelection, however, he had already decided that he would turn himself in immediately rather than continue pretending that everything was fine. Otherwise, he knew, he might not survive long enough to see what happened to the movement he had spent so much of his political life defending.