Bombing levels former Zet royal palace on Koreli IV
KORELI IV — Twenty‑two Zet were killed late last night when a series of powerful, pre‑planted explosives obliterated the former Zet royal palace on Koreli IV, a newly protected Federation world in the Gamma Quadrant. Investigators are treating the blast as a coordinated terrorist attack, but no group has yet claimed responsibility.
Just one month after the Danni people entered the Federation as a protectorate, the symbol of their former masters — the Zet monarchy’s palace — lies in ruins.
“It’s a tragic situation no matter who is behind it, and it could easily reignite tensions between the Zet and the Danni,” said Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Nilsen, a Federation diplomat who helped broker earlier negotiations on the planet.
Local security officials say the number and placement of the charges suggest multiple perpetrators. Photographs taken shortly after the blast show stone fused into glassy slag; the site remains too hot for emergency crews to enter.
Councilwoman Ualara of the new unified Danni government offered condolences:
“The lives of the Ephemeral are hard enough, as is serving the Deathless. Twenty‑two lives will not return as their leaders do. The Danni people extend their sorrow to the affected families; loss is a pain the Danni know all too well.”
No Danni were in the palace when it collapsed, but 22 Zet — mostly members of the influential Guildmasters faction — were confirmed dead. An investigator speaking on condition of anonymity told the FNS that early evidence points to explosives embedded within the palace walls during past renovations. How and why they were placed remains unknown.
Koreli IV’s recent history is fraught. In 2401, the Danni granted the Zet access to rich mineral deposits in exchange for security. The Zet soon installed a puppet regime over the Danni, prompting unrest and an attempted coup by a rival Zet faction. Starfleet intervened to stabilize the situation, placing the planet under Federation protection and making it one of the most remote protectorates in the Gamma Quadrant.
The investigation continues, and Federation observers warn that the blast could deepen divisions just as talks toward a lasting settlement were beginning to gain traction.
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