Meeting in Cologne, Phase 1

[Swifty]

Merci madame Habermeyer, truly it is the kind words i hear from you that are holding my hopes hostage, in a good way.
We were aware of the hardships that were going to follow us after the Glassing, we just took the necessary measures to retreat et regroup then resist for as long as it took for the newly formed Confederate government to inevitably  fail miserably as it was expected et designed for, in order for us to commence our process of reinstatement.  It was a long et painful wait for us, but at the end of the day we made it through. A smirk can be noticed on Mounier's face, indicating that he's aware of some of the things mentioned by Traudel.  I am all well too aware of how Sirians work by now. He sighs.  A good example of that would be Kusari, whom too went through some "changes" before they struck Gallia, despite us paying our dues et helping their crippled economy when we very well could have taken a different approach, but we did not. Is that because we were "savages"? Or because we wanted to be reasonable et wanted to see the good in others? If anything... our gratitude was only taken advantage of nothing less. He continued, without moving his eyes from Traudel's for a moment.  Surely you can understand now why I'm having these unquestionable concerns.  Despite the fact right now I have no credibility in the eyes of people, other than being an outlaw by word of the new lawmakers of Gallia et foreign entities et leading a group of fanatics as they would call us, if i exclude the other reasons i came here, I am here to also ensure that another similar incident never happens again because for better or worse, it is still my Home. Surely you can tell who or what I am by simply hearing me speak, or by looking me in the eyes which cannot lie. Ferdinand pauses for a brief moment and takes another small sip from his glass, just wetting his lips really and puts it back down very gently.   Indeed my deepest concerns begun when I heard about Bretonia, not only that, but your Lieutenant expressing concern about damaging relations with them if Rheinland was indeed to show interest  in supporting us which led me to believe there is more to that than simple "treaties"... as you would call them, another reason why i asked monsieur Thielau for full transparency in this meeting. Both his hands on the desk, he interlocks his fingers and his thumbs would rotate in a slow motion. Before expressing that specific worry, he believed we were requiring some sort of financial Funding? As if Francs or Credits would even help in any way. Even mistook us for the revolutionaries... if I am not mistaken? To us, those are some hurtful matters to assume without having a chance to hear what we have to say. Keep in mind that the reconnaissance task was  one I had to improvise quickly because those who were initially tasked to carry this operation et meeting not only betrayed our cause, they purposely postponed it while apparently working with the Bretonian intelligence behind the scenes. I know one of the two did at least. A former Commandant of our Regiment that got away et is under the protection of, heh, Bretonian authorities these days, isn't that humorous? The ex-Colonel of the Regiment was imprisoned for delaying his duties et will face true justice before the Royal Court when the time comes for that. His eyes still locked on Traudel.  If it was not straightforward to the point, I doubt Admiral Thielau or.... anyone else for the matter would have taken the request seriously  et we probably would not even be here having this fruitful discussion, or am I wrong? He slightly raises his right eyebrow Keep your friends close.... a wise saying indeed, but how do I know we are not really the ones filling the role of the enemy? After all, we are just outlaws in the eyes of many et unfortunately that does not exclude people within your ranks. It makes me wonder how many others may share that sentiment, really. Not to mention... the very Sirian tradition of breaking treaties whenever it seems convenient. He says calmly as his eyes are locked on Traudel.

---