It's not clear where this video's been shot: a mostly darkened room, barring a single chair picked out by the light of a desk lamp. There's a timecode running in the top left corner that dates it to 01-01-2520.

Sat in the chair is a sober looking Connie Saint, clad in her usual tank top and jeans, a crucifix round her neck. She clears her throat, takes a sip from a mug held in her hands. "My name's Connie Saint: for those who don't know, which..." a light chuckle, "... can't be many any more, I'm the daughter of Admiral Liam Saint, was a Captain in the Alliance Navy during the Unification War, and later Captain of my own independent trader during the recent strike." One hand runs through red hair in a familiar gesture. "There are some things I'd like to set on record, things that I feel sufficiently strongly about that I'm not prepared to just let them go. Doubtless, if and when this is broadcast, some people will try and put their own slant on it, either by making me out to be a liar, or by selective editing. All I'll say is, there are people out there who know I'm telling the truth, and I have no reason to lie. A goodly portion of this is covered under Section 41 of the Alliance Code," - the code governing military and other secrets - "and I'm aware that I'm breaking that in recording this for possible broadcast." 

She takes another swallow from the mug, sets it aside on the table next to her. "In July 2510, I and my ship, the IAV Tsinghai, along with two others, the IAV Mercury commanded by Captain Gene Lovell and the IAV Beijing by Captain Don Slayton, were asked to take part in a raid on Shadow, in which we were to be dropping what I was told were 'experimental weapons'." She considers her words for a moment - apparently she's working without notes. "The observer from Weapons Division aboard the Tsinghai was Adam Mynatt." Matter of factly. "Due to a thruster malfunction, we were two minutes behind the other two ships when we reached the target, and it was possible to discern from local transmissions in the wake of their drops that the experimental weapons we were asked to carry were in fact biological or chemical warfare agents of some nature." There's a pause, and then she looks up. "I refused." Quietly, "The New Geneva Convention of 2463, to which all the Alliance worlds are signatories, in fact demands that I did so." She sighs. "I'd like to say the weapon didn't get dropped, but..." A one-shouldered shrug. "Adam Mynatt relieved me of command, and ordered it dropped anyway."

"As I said before - there are witnesses to this. My crew were split up among other ships, and I..." A wry, somewhat tired laugh. "It's easy to claim that I dodged the death penalty for mutiny because of who my father was. And it's probably true. But it's also true that I didn't ask for that, and I pleaded guilty at my court martial."

She takes another drink, sets the mug aside. "Which brings us forward to last year, and the deaths of Captains Slayton and Lovell and my father." Calmly. "Again, there are witnesses to this, but I'm not going to put them in danger by naming them." She shakes red hair back. "The short version, anyway: Captain Slayton retired, and was writing his memoirs. He submitted a chapter on the events over Shadow for approval to Adam Mynatt. The latter didn't want to see them released, and evidently saw that as a threat."

One hand tucks a lock of hair back from her face. "He arranged that certain details of events over Shadow, as well as the Captains' and my father's movements, got leaked via a Browncoat mole to a small group led by someone called Cryczek, who proceeded to systematically murder them." Quietly, "I was lucky - by about two inches at most. Being officially dead seemed, however, to be useful, as it allowed us to try and track down both Mynatt and Cryczek. In the end, Mynatt was shot by Cryczek, and the latter delivered by me to the Alliance as a prisoner." She looks down at her hands, then up at the camera. "While I regret his death, I am not in the least ashamed of my actions in attempting to bring him to justice. He quite clearly had no thought for the Alliance other than as a means to his own gain, and was willing to sacrifice others to ensure his position and safety."

Another sip from the mug, hands cradling it in her lap once she has done so. "Now..." A sigh. "As a result of the strike of independent traders, I stand accused of attempting to undermine the Alliance." She shakes her hair back, fixes the camera with a level gaze. "Believe me when I say that this was never my intent. Traders simply cannot exist and make any decent, honest living on the fees the Trade Guild have been paying, and the purpose of the strike was simply to draw attention to the fact. I, we, always have been willing to meet with representatives of the Trade Guild and discuss our issues, but Mr. Forest has never responded to any public or private waves on the matter, and, in fact, he's seen fit to try and break the strike by illegal means. I am /still/ willing to talk. Even now." 

Another flick of red hair off her face. "It would be very easy to turn this video into a demonstration that I'm either crazy or a traitor to the Alliance." She shakes her head. "Anything but. There /are/ people out there who will confirm everything I've said. People who've been out to Umbra and seen and analysed what was done, people who were on the bridge of the Tsinghai with me, people who witnessed what Mynatt did..." A short pause. "I am, and always will be, loyal to the ideal and the concept that is the Alliance. And for the good of the Alliance, the good of that ideal, I have remained silent when perhaps I should not; I have asked others to refrain from actions that would damage the fragile peace we have here. I have willingly thrown away my career as an officer because things I could not countenance were being done in the name of what I believed in."

A determined toss of red hair. "I understand Commodore Cho-Feng's pain. To lose a loved one to the perceived enemy hurts, beyond measure." Her expression softens. "I know, as much as he does. And there are people, many people, on both sides, who know that pain. There is a memorial on Sihnon that lists every soldier who died in the war - every one of them has loved ones who mourn them. There are many many thousands of names on the memorial on Shadow too, and each of them too is missed, mourned." Firm, assured. "There is nothing, not one single thing, any of us can do, from a stablehand on Whitefall up to the highest ranking officer in the Alliance, that will bring anyone back. Vengeance will do nothing but add more names to the list, names like Seyada." Softly, "A young girl whose only crime was an accident of birth, and whose name has now come to be a thing to be hated, because people on both sides will not let go."

Green eyes fasten on the camera again. "It's over. The war ended nearly ten long years ago. To the people still fighting it, I say let it go. I do not say forget, but rather learn, forgive, ask for forgiveness, and please, God, let us all move on." She lets out a quiet breath, fingers straying to the crucifix she's holding. "If you're watching this, it's probably too late for me to be a part of it. But that doesn't mean it's too late for everyone else."

This tape was in the possession of Dr Leigh-Anne Duckworth of Stockton Medical Center on Greenleaf, formerly Medial Officer aboard IAV Tsinghai under Captain Saint. It was released to the authorities after Captain Saint's disappearance in 2526.