Livadia, Dry-dock C, Assembly Observation Room Another day, another meetin’, Daniel muttered to himself. Phoenix’s rising influence had him knee-deep in newcomers, and what was meant to be a wee side job—something to clear his head after endless engineering projects—had turned into a mountain of applications and paperwork.
He lit his trusty pipe and drew a calming puff while he fixed his mind on the next task. For the first time ever, an entire colony ship had asked to join Phoenix. Such vessels usually kept well clear of civilization and were a rare sight indeed. To make matters more intriguing, its master—Captain Khalid—was, by all accounts, a flamboyant soul. Whatever conditions Khalid intended to lay on the table were wrapped in a radiant cloak of mystery.
Still, the sheer size of the vessel and her crew would be a boon to the community, especially with Headquarters clamouring for more exploration assets.
Daniel tucked his datapad under his arm, rose from his desk, and headed for the bar. Och, I’ll be needin’ a stiff drink afore this day is through, he thought, exhaling a thin ribbon of sweet-scented smoke.
Saule watched the man for a few moments before approaching.
He hadn't expected to be met with enthusiasm. On the contrary, he'd grown used to being laughed at and mocked for his ideas, particularly when they were enormous in scope, which this one certainly was. It had cost him billions of his own credits to find, tow, rebuild, and crew the Exodus. Now he wanted to rebuild an entire star system, and the man before him hadn't demanded a single credit yet. It almost made him uncomfortable.
"Good evening," he said.
He shook the man's hand, then wiped his own with a white cloth.
"Have you ever been to Liberty?" he said, letting the question hang in the air.
Livadia, The bar “Good day.” he mumbled, eyeing the handkerchief in disbelief. A quick glance at his hands confirmed they were clean enough, no grease left over from the latest benchmark of the new engine prototype. For a heartbeat he wondered if it was meant as a slight; then, looking back at Khalid, it clicked. The captain was an oddity in many of his choices—this was likely just one more of his peculiar little gimmicks.
“Liberty, ye say?” He tried to recall his last visit to Phoenix’s recruitement center on Erie. “Must be a decade at least. I ken some o’ our convoys pass through their system tae haul deuterium for our foundries, but beyond that I tend tae steer clear. Like Bretonia, those Houses show little to no respect for us Zoners. Why d’ye ask?”
"Good," he said. "So, you've heard my question and you've got business there. Don't pretend you haven't inferred why I came here."
Saule stood uncomfortably close to the man, holding direct eye contact. He was trying to see if this guy had some backbone. He knew he couldn't do this alone, but it didn't mean he would waste time with unreliable assets. Doing this meant assembling a team of trained, capable people. People who would be willing to give their lives for the cause. Warriors.
"I ask, because I want to stop it." he said.
He caught himself getting angry. He hoped Phoenix felt the same.
He hoped every Zoner felt the same.
"I refuse to make the same mistake that was made with Freeport 11. I will not wait for the Zoners of Pennsylvania to call for help first."
Livadia, The bar
Donagan watched the man crawling toward him. He chalked it up to yet another gimmick and chose to ignore the theatrics.
“Ye want tae get back at Liberty for what they’re doin’ tae Erie?” He smirked, letting out a sour little laugh. “A frontal conflict’s out o’ the question. Ye can arm up an’ launch as many ships as ye like. Liberty will always have the numbers, an’ the means tae subjugate entire systems. Why d’ye think Kusari’s so cautious aboot open war wi’ Liberty? Even during the Gallic–Liberty conflict, the so-called resistance cells managed hee-haw.”
He sighed, the humour fading. “Best we can do is keep those cells supplied, while evacuating anyone willin’ tae seek freedom elsewhere.”
Daniel fixed the man with a hard stare. “So tell me—what’s yer colourful plan for Pennsylvania, then?”
