The room was slowly filling up with every kind of people. There werent enough chairs for most of them, so they were forced to stay on their feet.
Whispering was the only thing you could hear, true men talking, discussing. The air began to be, unbreathable, and damn warm. As usual, the meeting that was scheduled some week ago, was again late to begin.
The warm air, and the pain in the feet one accumulated after sitting straight for hours didnt make things any better.
Finally, consul, Michael Carruth, arrived at the meeting room. Followed by his right hand man in business - Patrick Q.
A small table, in the middle of room was ready for them. The people, that had waited for so long, could finally relax. The meeting was about to start.
Michael looked around. There wasnt one free space, that didnt have a human being. Hm. Alright here we go Michael whispered to himself.
Thank you all for gathering today in such, very big numbers. I see some old faces, that I havent seen for a long time. Some of you, ended up in jail, like Liam, or like Patrick, sitting next to me, or left Bretonia space to seek support among other groups with similar goals. Or, like Micheal Harrell that almost killed himself by drinking too much beer at Trafa. He is also here today, I believe. Khm. Drinks only after the meeting, mate. And, of course many others, which to save time, wont be mention.
I also see a few new faces arround, which makes me happy. It is always nice to see new fighters for our cause.
I believe, you all know reason why I called this meeting then ?
Daniel O'Shy, the man that did so much for us, finally decided to retire, and continue his, probably last years in peace. I believe, you all know Daniel.
After the horror era caused by treacherous deal with the Queen, he did lead an armed rebellion against the corrupted members of the Union of Gold. Following that, the war conflict with the Armed Force was again reopened.
But, his diplomatic acts werent all about finding new hostiles. One of the best agreements was signed by NLH leadership and Daniel, when both sides agreed on the terms of the Non-aggression pact.
That was our Daniel. Where are we today?
Everything made in the past is threatened by the Kusari expansion into Bretonian space. And, we still consider Leeds, London and Cambridge as our homes. What is the bigger threat, home, or outside enemy ?
But, that isnt the only problem that we face today. An even bigger threat comes from the Border and Edge Worlds. Our losses on Cork werent heavy, thanks to fact that we had time to evacuate most of the families living there. But, I know as a fact that there are many people in this crowd that lost one or more family members on Cork. Most of us wont forget it for the rest of our lives. Can we forgive and forget?
And our third foe is our very old one. The Queen, the BMM lobby and the Bretonian Armed Force.
In these harsh times for our home, should we forget the fact about Graves, and everything that followed Founders Day? Should we try to talk again, but with more maturity in our voices?
Glorius in front, Coleraine base behinde
Why do I even ask those things?
Our leadership lost one consul, and the Molly Republic cannot be led by one man. History thought us that those kinds of Republics never ended well.
I would like to call three following men, Noal, Angus O'C and Breeny. Come here boys.
Three men approached Michael near the table.
I believe, it is time, that we decided, who will lead our state, into next chapter of history.
Those three men will try to gain your support, with their thoughts and believes. I stated earlier three very important questions for our 'consuls'.
Some of people in this mess may not know you, so, be sure to tell them something about yourselves also. I believe I have spoken enough. Now is your turn. So, who will be first?
Michael sat down and whispered something to Patricks ear.
Glorius landing on Coleraine, together with most of Mollys that will take part in the meeting
"One of ma first memorys as a child, was being woken up in the middle of the night and pulled out of ma home, and put onto a rusty old transport. i watched out the window for a while.... untill i was forced ta look away by the blinding glare of the nuclear explosions."
Noal sighed, then continued.
"thats about the only thing i remember from my early childhood. i suspect that you can find more people my age who share the same memory, many of them never got over it. some were blinded, some went crazy, and some of them, are like me. pilots within are ranks.... some of them older then me."
noal pauses a moment to let his words sink in.
if there is any man here who would wish the same fate upon our enemy's, the bretonian goverment.... then let me throw the first stone, 'cause we arent here ta kill millions, we're are here to win our independence."
"the corsairs can never be allowed ta do that again. ta anyone. we need ta take a stronger stand against them then we've taken recently. out efforts have slipped in the past few years, we need ta get our arse's back inta gear, and draw a new line..... "
"a line made out'a fire an' steel."
Noal glance's around the room, looking at each of the men he can see. most of whom are taller then him.
"i might not be the man ta lead you all.... i am young and inxeperienced compared ta most of you.... but i sure as hell intend ta try!
if you'll let me, that is."
Noal wipes the sweat from his face, and waits for someone else to speak.
' Wrote:<span style="font-family:Century Gothic">Violence is Golden</span>
Colin Breen was perhaps one of the younger men in the room, let alone candidates for Consul. He was painfully aware of this fact as he began to speak.
"I didn't see Founders Day." he began anew. "And I didn't see Cork. I didn't see the signing of the treaty. And I haven't seen years of bloody battle against our enemies." Colin paused for another moment. "But, fer the things that I haven't seen, I've 'eard. You see, I lived with me dad, I guess, but it was me grandfather, a true Molly, 'oo raised me. Me dad left the Mollies, and then 'e left me alone. And me grandfather became a sort of dad to me. And from 'im, I've 'eard about the 'istory of us Mollies, until I can almost see the things 'e talks about. 'E 'ad such passion, such a fire inside 'im. It would do any Molly good to 'ave known 'im. 'E was always telling me about things that would break any man's 'eart. He told me about Founders Day. About the original revolt, about the Armed Forces, about the slaughter. 'E told me about it so many times, I was almost as if I was there. Same with Cork. 'E talked about it so much, I could see it through the tears in 'is eyes when he spoke about losing most of 'is family to the bombs. I think that I feel what he felt. He put into me the wounds 'e 'ad taken 'is entire life. But 'e also put into me courage, bravery, and 'onour. 'E made a proper Molly out of me, and I think that was 'is goal all along, to bring the family back to the Mollies. 'E was a great man, God rest 'is soul - 'is fire's since been extinguished by the world, yet another old Molly gone from these bloody skies. When 'e died, I knew the only thing left fer me to do was fly out here and join my kin. I carried few things with me. My ship, the clothes on my back, and 'is fire inside me heart, the fire of a good, old, Molly, the likes of which you've never seen."
"And I believe in all 'is goals, all 'is dreams. I dream of a united and liberated Dublin. I believe in our fight, the fight of the Mollies so many seem to forget nowadays. We fight against opression, we fight against BMM, we fight against injustice. We fight for a free Dublin. And we fight for peace."
Colin 's eyes drifted to Noal for just a split second as he paused, and then he continued. "The Corsairs are not, and never 'ave been, our primary target or enemy. Yes, they've killed countless people, and this is truly tragic. We should punish them many times over for it - but they are an enemy made on the wayside of our true goal, the goal that our fathers and grandfathers fought and died for. The fight against the Armed Forces and BMM - against injustice. It's the fight fer freedom they fought, the fight fer Dublin. That's what my grandfather fought fer, that's what all yer fathers fought for, and that's what we all should fight for!"
Colin stopped and swallowed before continuing. "Now, we don't 'ave superior military might. We can't destroy the Corsairs, no matter 'ow much we swear at 'em. And the BAF and BMM are tough old beasts as well." Colin grew more somber. "We don't have the greatest chances of winning against them, lads. They're an entire house, and we're just a bunch of angry old miners. We can fight, aye, and we can fight well, but when it comes down to it, we just don't have enough resources to keep this up."
Colin grew quieter. "Now, me grandfather, old angry man that he was, also knew this, and I think that by the time 'e died, 'e'd accepted the fact that our victory couldn't come through arms alone. And I think perhaps I 'elped give 'im that idea. We might be able to wrest control through violent means, and then again, we might not. I think..." Colin almost braced for an expected reaction from the crowd, "I think it's 'igh time we became the better men and stood up an' tried to talk on a level field. I think the Bretonians, and the Corsairs, are growings as tired of this conflict as we are. They've wounded us both deeply, and I think we might 'ave wounded them in return. This will continue indefinitely. But someone has to finally step up and drop these grudges and prove themselves the better, and I say, let the better be us! And if we can't reason with formal diplomacy, let us prove ourselves on the battlefield - let our fighter pilots use their word and wit to win battles against our enemies, not their guns! Violence is a means, yes, but a more conducive means is reasoning. If we act with our words and avoid combat, our reputation will take turn for the better in the minds of the people, then they may hear us out - if we can perhaps turn them to our cause, we might gain enough popular support to be heard by the governments."
"I person'ly think the future's a bright one, but it lies within Bretonia. The Corsairs are an outside problem. The BAF and BMM are an inside problem, and the more critical for that. Our focus should lie with them. But, everything considered, I think Dublin's skies may again be gold instead of red. I believe that we can win this war of ours. I believe that we can win this war with more than guns. I think that words may be just as useful to us now as anything else. I wouldn't be surprised if when we expressed a wish to drop past grudges and be reasonable, others might also. I think that we can make it through all this, survive, like we always 'ave. I 'ave 'igh 'opes fer us all, and 'igh 'opes for the Republic."
Liam listened carefully to the words of the Council candidates,
after colin sat down Liam Stood up and raised his hand
as ye all know, I recently was released frum Newgate,
and for as me 'nows I was the only "Molly" who had fair trial.
but thats the past mateys,
I 'ereby make myself candidate for Councilor just like my brother Andy,
may his soul rest in peace, now I partialy agree with Colin lad, but mostly disagree
to get dublin free we must get leeds cleaned up, not like as we should remove space garbage,
but more those kusarian teasippers, remove that plaque from Bretonia,
drive them back to their own lands Liam slammed the bottle he had on the table near him
now back to where I was, holds a few seconds, to make a long story short
WE STALL STAND STRONG, and Free DUBLIN
Tobias was sitting at the corner of the meeting room with bottle of whiskey in front of him, carefully watching and listening to the speeches of applicants.
As Liam finished, he cleaned his throat and started talking
"Well, big words ye 'ave, Liam and Noal, but, how ye want to achieve our goals? We all want to free Dublin, aye, we all want freedom fer our people and get rid o' Corsair filth. I believe everyone in dis room wants freedom. More important is, -how-.
Colin is right. We dun 'ave 'nuff resources and people to achieve our goals with force. Diplomacy, dat's what we need. We need leaders who are skilled in both diplomacy and warfare, 'cause both things walk hand to hand with each other."
Tobias finished his glass of whiskey
"Thats all fer now from me, if ye 'ave any comments, say them now or let the last applicant speak."
As Toby finish, meeting room filled up with few moments of silence. Michael used this chance to ask few questions for those consuls.
What is our bigger threat lads, Kusari, or Queen? Or 'Sairs? Where, and what should we do about them?
I spent few days in Arry pub, where I lissen what our pilots talk about.
One big fact is, that only one side in Bretonia dont shot us on sight. Well, two actually. NLH and IMG.
We face some big cats today, Emperor and Queen. So, here is my question.
What do you prefer, Kusari or Queen?
Another question if I may.
Coalition. In past, we didnt go well together. What is your plans for the future, regarding them?
Colin began to speak. "I suppose I'll say my bit."
"The Coalition is supposedly workin' for the people, right? The oppressed masses and those trodden into the dust by those in power. I suppose we might fit that category. Their enemies are the Bretonian Government and the Corsairs, as are ours. Those, at least, are similarities we share. Aye, we sure have plenty o' differences, but I see no reason that we should not enjoy a more peaceful relationship with them... fer now, at least."
Colin paused and the continued with another thought. "Now, I ain't no lover of the Kusarians," he explained. "They're attackin' Bretonia, and I'd sooner side with the crown than the dragon. Per'aps the first time I went out on a flight by myself, I cut a Kusarian fighter off in the tradelanes in New London, 'cause I guessed where he was goin' after hearin' some communications across the system. A battleship, of all things, was chasin' this fighter. And without a word we worked to corner and destroy the Kusarian. Both of us knew we had more in common with each other than we did the Kusarian."
"This 'ole Kusari situation is a interesting opportunity. Now Bretonia 'as something worry about other than us and the Corsairs. They're strained, fightin' this many wars, and this gives us an opportunity, it does. And maybe Bretonia thinks that we'll side with the Kusarians - anything to defeat the crown, eh? I imagine they're quite worried about the prospect of fighting on many different fronts."
"I say we relieve them of that worry. In this time of war, Bretonia is weak, spread out, and eager for any advantage it can gain over the Kusarians or the Corsairs, to a lesser extent. I think we can play on this to achieve part of what we want, if not all of it!" Colin paused again, letting his words fall. "If we pursue a new, diplomatic path with Bretonia, and we attempt to secure peace with them rather than war, I think our best bargaining chip at the moment is the idea that we can 'elp the Bretonians on three fronts. One, we clear Dublin of any war - that will give them more ships to move out to Leeds. Two, the Corsairs are our enemies, and we're in positions to defend Bretonia from them - which we're doing right now, just with our fights and skirmishes and whatnot. Three, I think we can 'old the Corsairs from our borders easily enough - we can send men up to Leeds and help the Bretonians oust those yellow fiends from our 'ome."
"Now, I know that we 'ate the BAF. But what better way to pursue diplomatic relations than to do the impossible task of letting bygones by bygones and look the the future and assist them. Mollies, if anything, don't forget. But if we could manage this, and if we could use our position as a bargaining chip with Bretonia, I think we could get much further in the fight for Dublin than we have in recent years. The BAF and us could get further in the fight against Tokyo than we have in recent months."
"The benefits are twofold. Oust the Kusarians, and open Bretonia to diplomacy."
As soon as Colin finished his talk, slow clapping was heard from the corner where Tobias sat.
"Impressive, ye read my mind or somethin'", Tobias laughed
"Aye, if we help the bloody Queen in the war with Kusarians, maybe we will get our freedom, and everythin' we wanted. Or maybe not. Dun forget they betray'd us before, and they can do it again. But the truth is, Kusarians are much worse. We dun have much options fer sure, this one is risky, but ye sometimes need to risk to gain somethin'. Sittin' on our arses, watchin' the war and doin' nothin' is bad. Apathy is death."
Tobias made a short pause in his speech, looked at the people around, and continued.
"Coalition. One point I'm doubtful at. Surely, they do support people like us. But remember, they 'ave different point of look at meanin' of word "Republic"."
"If ye are able to make all yer words happen, ye have my full support lad."
Tobias smiled at Colin and leaned back in his chair.
me and colin together are strong at diplomatics and warfare tactics,
I thinks the best option here is US together, now we must give the queen
one option, we help those kusarian teasippers out if they retreat their forces
actively from Dublin, for the benefit of both our groups, but that prolly means
we have to give up asking donations in "their" territory
"interms of wha' our prioritys should be, i have ta agree with liam, we cant go off trying ta bite of more then we can chew. well, we've already got a boatload of stuff ta bite, but we need ta get our prioritys straight."
he paused, waiting to see if anyone said anything. no one did.
"i say, we kick the midgets back out of leeds, before they go about trying ta conquer us. maybe get the queen to lay off us for a while, so we have a chance to build up our forces. at the moment, we barely have enough ship's an' pilots ta fly them, an' if ya think about it...... we're not doing so great... but on the other hand, we aint doing all that bad."
Noal steped back, and refused the chair that was offered to him, he knew he would need to reply again, and the room was too crowded for people moving around.
' Wrote:<span style="font-family:Century Gothic">Violence is Golden</span>
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