Conference room 0-8-15 had been prepared in advance too, with a central table and space for a headup display from a projector as well as several seperate workspace layouts for the Council staff. Mr. Tukker had set down his own personal comnet terminal abd was only accompanied by a rugged older Gunboat Captain he had introduced as McKannon and a technician in a standard Overall with Tinkers badge and emblem who was working the system and soon chatting with one of LaFlamme's crewmembers. The General and the Trader shared a few sociable moments while the staff settled down in the room and the Council guards completed their control.
Checking the systems et sorting out preliminaires should not take long, monsieur Tukker. Thank you for preparing the data you sent me. I have added a few points to the list I would like to discuss with you and see no reason why we can not complete les negotiations tres vite . Merci pour the effective work, it is a pleasure to work with professionals.
Tukker seemed clearly pleased by this and returned the compliment.
General, it is an honour for us. It is sometimes a struggle to get acceptance or respect in the chaotic inter- house corporate setting, and we tend to get considered last by governmental agencies if there is any interesting contract to be had. We understand why and live with it, but the acceptance the gallic Council shows towards is is a great boon to the morale of our men. And I take care to keep our men working towards a goal that is more than mere wealth. We are humans, and humans tend to be steered only by base emotions : Greed or Pride. At Tinkers we prefer to be proud about our work and discourage avarice.
Oui, c'est understandable. You do well to keep high standards. We at the gallic council know only too well what a regime based on greed and monstrous egoicity can do to a communité. Les Aristocrats and the royalist party supporting le Roi Charles bleed Gallia to death with their propaganda of glory and supremacy.
Both men nodded at each other, focussing again on the work at hand. This was no mere social visite, and with the war raging in Sirius there would be no long rest for either of them. Both knew that while they represented different groups they shared a common goal : Liberté .
That elusive and precious thing called Freedome.
