Perpetual Commotion | The Santini Family

[Thexare]

Ayumu stood in front of a sizable audience in one of Cape Wrath's assembly halls. The long green coat he always wore bore the pale blue emblem of Mirage on its shoulder, but other than that nothing visibly tied him to any combat force.

The Outcasts before him were a disorganized lot, as they so frequently were. He recognized a handful from the Southern Lights, but the majority were largely unknown. When it became clear that all who would attend were present, Ayumu flicked a switch under his podium and began.

"Many of you recently moved here to get away from the civil war." His voice rang out over the loudspeaker, ensuring everyone on the base would hear. "The Ghosts are a shadow of their old glory, and the Contari Lance will stop at nothing to realize their ambitions. Neither group is concerned with Malta; the Contari only want power, and the Ghosts? They're not what they once were. A shadow of their old selves." Murmurs amongst the audience indicated a general agreement with his words, and he continued, "But there is another player on the board. Don Emilio Santini, you know him well. He has always been fair and measured in his dealings, and always had an eye on the future of Malta. And he has decided to step into this conflict." The tone of the audience changed, to surprise and some dismay. "He does not take the side of either the Lance or the Ghosts - he intends to put an end to the war; whatever it takes, we will end it! We cannot and we will not show weakness to the vultures of the Republic, to the cowards that hid behind their minefield for centuries, or to the barbarians of Crete! We are the people of Malta, we will unite, and we will prevail!"

Cheers broke out among the audience, and many of them lined up to speak to one of Ishida's lieutenants about signing up.

"Impressive speech, dear." Tiana Santini-Ishida had been semi-hidden in the back of the room during the speech, only approaching after the crowd dispersed. "So who wrote it for you?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"Mia."

"Hey, you're right, I don't."