LH / CR / IMG - Ceasefire Negotiations, Barrier Gate, Coronado

[Jack_Henderson]

Ms. O'Reily was watching the ongoing conference and she would not have expected that her idea about steering the flow of slaves towards Yuma would be that easily accepted. She had expected the Crayterians to go for it, and she had expected the Hackers to use it as a shield to hide their ongoing trafficking behind. Yet, the terms that appear on the draft are even more than that.

Positively surprised, she goes over the draft. "... I have to say, this is a great draft and I would recommend it to the IMG's Guildmastery to support it fully. I have transferred the file, and I expect an answer quickly." she comments after having read the draft.

It takes a minute in which the delegations are clarifying last issues and are discussing on whether anything else needs to be in the draft, but she cannot think of anything that would be necessary at that point and having a working solution for Coronado is worth a lot. Details could be integrated at any given later stage, once the whole atmosphere was a cooperative, calm and constructive one.

With a little vibrating sound, the answer of the IMG Guildmastery came in. She reads it herself, quickly checks with her colleague, they check the security certificate of the message, and then she nods: "Message from the Guildmastery: introduction, etc etc... <she skips that, just mumbling it> ah, here: the Guild will do everything in our power to make sure that the transfer of future settlers to Yuma is smooth and that the logistics are up and running for the start of the WPPP plan. Plus, if there were complications at any point, the Guild is ready to mediate again." she says, sounding clearly relieved.

[Wolfgang Weisen]

Wolfgang was visibly unsettled. His face's scars and marks created by cardamine overuse were somehow more intense and inhuman than usual.

How could she have anticipated his message and had already compiled a response? She must have been aware of his agenda before the meeting ever began, there was no other logical conclusion to this. Wolfgang's mind started racing on the possibilities. Where did he make a mistake? How much Professor Hunter knows? Is her intimidating message just a bait or more than that? How should I answer her?


"Professor, with all due respect, slavery may compose only 5% in terms of quantity, but I mentioned the profits, not volume. Not many shipments are more rewarding in terms of raw profits than a full slave liner.

As for my 'misperception', I cannot but fully accept your wisdom in this matter. The Colonials are prone and known to random acts of violence according to several documents and reports of the past. They may put their 'feelings' first instead of lucrative business, or in this case a ceasefire. This was the primary concern I had which prompted me to contact you privately and double-check it.

I hope that answers your question."


The Deceiver typed and pressed the 'Send' button. He couldn't spend more time on his reply, with all the representatives waiting for him. He then took Von Hammerstein's pad where the electronic agreement was written. He read the terms of the Ceasefire Agreement loudly one last time and signed below as the ranking representative of the Lane Hackers. He then handed the e-agreement to the Colonials and quickly excused himself to the bathroom.

---

Wolfgang threw fresh water to his face. He had no illusions that he would most likely be dead in a few hours. He lied to Nicole Hunter and he couldn't do otherwise. He wouldn't have found mercy even if he had said the truth, after almost 2.5 years within the Hackers he knew that much.

The only thing he could do now was to revisit every step, find the mistake he made and patch it. And then contact the Professor Provocateur and tell him everything.

---

"Our society is based on an economic bubble. Do you know what will happen when the bubble collapses?"

[Jack_Henderson]

Ms. O'Reily was listening to the Lane Hacker representative reading out the statement and she nodded whenever he finished one of the carefully drafted paragraphs, and not without a inward sigh of relief she took notice of Mr. Weisen signing the agreement. "... excellent, thank you, Mr. Weisen." she comments and claps her hands in a gesture of authentic appreciation and relief. It also was fueled by the last-minute communication exchanges that the Lane Hacker had with some unknown party - which almost made her anticipate a breakdown at the last moment.

The Ceasfire Agreement was moved around the table and when it passed the IMG delegation, she unceremoniously signed, as well as the 2nd IMG representative. Just two quick strokes of a pen, and the docmument was already moving on to the Crayter delegation: "... finishing touches.", she comments when the document and the signature pen are moved to the last signatory party.

[TheShooter36]

As the pen moved to Crayter delegates, Michael Richard acted rather quick and caught the pen before Corvin. However, before signing up, he read the terms silently for one last time. Then looked at Corvin for a second and proceeded to sign. As the pen moved on his hand elegantly, he nodded. After signing up, he said "This was an honor to me and i must say that it went surprisingly well for every party involved. May this agreement held by parties on both ends and for long time."

---

[Jack_Henderson]

Ms. O'Reily was watching the Crayter representative sign the declaration and when it was done, she got up from her chair and picked up the document. After quickly verifying that all the formalities have been met in full, she nods again and smiles into the ranks of the delegates.

"Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen, for your constructive and diplomatic effort to end this stand-off. I can confirm, that all parties signed the document and that we can conclude this session." she seems very content with this outcome and she does not try to even hide it:

"The Guild will take all the necessary steps to facilitate the transfer of workforce for the WPPP, so that the relocation effort can begin as soon as tomorrow. Thank you again, and... if there is nothing else to discuss here, I would like to invite those of you who do not have to leave immediately to a humble buffet and some drinks that our host prepared in the next room." she points over to a door.

On the other side, there would be something to eat and some drinks. Not a huge selection, and not very fancy, but good quality and enough to keep the delegations fed for at least 24 hours. Seems the Guild expected long and tricky negotiations that would call for breaks - something that thankfully did not occur.