Adeline Koval stood in front of some 400 representatives, military officers, industry leaders, and diaspora businesskerbs on the floor of the House of Voley. She was pointing to a large projector screen behind her showing a Rhend attack helicopter.
"Nine thousand hłyvnia per year, per unit, is what Mr. Kuchma's company will be paid to maintain these. They are sluggish, the pylons cannot carry as many munitions as contemporary platforms, the turreted gun is underpowered, and the gun that isn't underpowered isn't even gimballed on an already lethargic platform, and it barely carries any ammunition to boot. For the price of one of these, we could have three Ka-50s from Basil. Three! And they would actually turn!"
"But they have great range and lifting power! They can be used as utility helicopters as well!" The businesskerb who orchestrated that particular part of the deal interjected. He was a wealthy member of the diaspora. His family had fled south to the UIF when old Belasirov fell, they had kept and even grown their wealth, and he had come back home to "help rebuild" with his business connections and savvy.
"Mr. Kuchma they don't have utility bays, and if they did, they wouldn't have the extra range. And they would STILL be sluggish, they also do not have countermeasures. They are death traps for our pilots, both in training due to unforgiving flight performance, and in combat because they will die to the first missile that looks at them funny." Adeline moved to the next slide. "These are C-24 marine tankers, they cost ₴63,000 per year per unit. They can carry almost no fuel compared to contemporary tankers, which can carry much more at a much lower maintenance cost."
"Why were cheaper options not chosen?" This was representative Hudymenko from Illiadol. He had been critical of the procurement process from the start, and had argued the Department of Defense be given more time to find the best options, citing the UIF as a stabilizing force in the region, and constantly reminding his peers that if Dorislav wanted the land, they would have taken it when the Union didn't exist.
"No other parties put forth proposals in the allotted time, though many came shortly after, when more official lines of communication were established."
The presentation went on. Adeline described the equipment to be procured, and the costs associated. It had been decided that maintenance be outsourced to private contractors at the recommendation of some diaspora industrialists, who argued that local industry lacked the institutional technical knowhow to maintain anything more complex than "wooden carriages" much to the displeasure of Ms. Learod, who was in the House as an observer tonight. It was a long and tiring process, full of objections and excuses from the diaspora, but it was worth it for what Adeline knew was coming.
After getting through the technical slides, Adeline moved on to a section titled "Contractors (Mr. President We're Being Robbed)" which got chuckles from some of the representatives from the East, and worried looks from the diaspora businesskerbs.
"So if you will look here, you can see that we're contracting maintenance to Bysti-Tryos Belasirov, which is a subsidiary of Vereshchaginsk Salvation holdings, which is a subsidiary of Belasirov Legacy, a conglomerate of old business interests from before the collapse, in which Mr. Kuchma has a majority stake. We can see that his friends next to him also have large stakes in the company and its subsidiaries. Now you'll remember that Mr. Kuchma orchestrated the meetings with the Zokesian firms that acted as our intermediary with the Zokesians, which, lo and behold, he and his friends ALSO have large shares of. Not only was none of this disclosed to DoD as part of the declaration of conflict of interests process, but it was actively hidden when our investigators began asking questions of Mr. Kuchma's associates." Adeline was firmly tapping her cane against the projector screen now to punctuate her remarks.
Adeline saw Hudymenko put a hand on the hilt of his ancestral saber.
Another representative spoke. "Motion to cancel the arms deal with Cyten-Ward and prosecute Mr. Kuchma and associates for failure to disclose a conflict of interest, misrepresentation of assets to government, and endangerment of national security."
"All in favor?" The Speaker of the house looked like she was trying to bore a hole through Kuchma's head with his gaze.
A chorus of "aye!"s sounded out, followed by shouting and accusations of who's oversight allowed the corruption to progress to this point. But it was quickly interrupted again by the speaker.
"THEY'RE RUNNING!"
The Speaker, Mrs. Kolumbet, was not a young woman. But she rose from her seat with haste when Kuchma and his friends tried to hightail it amidst the chaos of the House. The Seargeant at Arms of the House was at the doors first, and he barred them with his lance. Kuchma stopped in front of him as a swarm of representatives made a beeline for him and drew something from his coat.
"GUN!"
There was a flash of steel, a bang, and screaming.
Adeline rushed towards the doors, when she got near the center of the commotion she saw Hudymenko standing over Kuchma, sword in hand dripping with blood, and Kuchma's arm three feet from the shoulder it was supposed to be attached to. Kuchma was the source of the screaming. Around him, his friends were on the floor being beaten with canes and rods of office, being called sons of Zokesian whores and soulless corporatist pigs. There was banging on the house doors. The Sergeant at arms unbarred it and two dozen military police rushed inside, hauling representatives off of Kuchma's co-conspirators so they could be taken away.
Hudymenko approached Adeline.
"Ms. Koval, a pleasure to see you as always." Hudymenko did a little bow.
"Viktor. I imagine this pleases you, you'll want to lower taxes back down won't you?" Adeline grimaced at the shrill screeches still emanating from Kuchma.
"Of course Ms. Koval, always."
