Floor 69, Comercio Fantasma

[Mr.Ling]

As Chenzo finished speaking, Ling took a long, heavy draft of his cigar and nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, and of course the final say lies with the Professorship, not I. I will tell you, however, something learned over seven colorful years of Intelligence specialization: Solutions that are the first thing you think of, that look sensible, and that are easy to implement are often short-lived, ineffective solutions that will cause headaches down the line. With that said, however..." He takes a holographic data file in hand. "Your suggestion to use this against the Xenos is one I'll commend heavily to the Professors, and you are certainly correct in saying this presents new opportunities. The nature of De Marco's movement isn't known completely, however, and the extent of her influence neither. Acting on it immediately may make both the Lane Hackers and yourself enemies of most of Malta."

He then takes the hologram and expands it for display. "As for the help of the Rogues, I'm afraid you'll find that difficult to obtain."

"A mouthy legion, spilled the beans of the Outcasts searching for.. "alternative sources of distribution." One of De Marco's underlings I'd imagine. "Asuncion" or some such. From day one I knew which way the wind would blow."

"I told her majesty that those that lay in bed with snakes are not welcome to my abode, and that if she did not alter her course of action, I would butcher her for it. Just as I butchered the Asuncion, and one of the Legion aces they sent after me to "set an example"."

"That was the day the Outcasts proved their hubris was insurmountable, and that they'd rather kill us for protecting the trade, than see it prosper."

"The Princess and the Beast, a lovely story. She thought me blind, and lame, lied to my face, and thought she'd get away with it."

"Though the story of why she dislikes me could be as simple as the fact I told her to go get medicated by Cryer when she said "The Xenos don't want to change Liberty."

"De Marco", Ling continued, "chose to speak for the Outcasts as a whole. The current leader of the Rogues is a warlord after the heart of any warlord in history. He's brought the Rogues to heel through strength, efficiency, and ruthlessness. And she chose to disrespect him to his face on his own territory, ally herself with an enemy, and send hitmen after him. She's thoroughly sullied the name of the Outcasts for the Liberty Rogues, and it wouldn't surprise me if they're preparing to drop Cardamine completely, and turn to Artifacts if not simply piracy alone. Rogues have always dealt in absolutes. Repairing the damage she did would cost her head on a silver platter, if not more. Expecting the Rogues to help us is a gamble of impressive stature."

"And given that she had the gall to speak for the Outcasts as a whole, I'd say she has a big enough following to feed her confidence. One that can't just be hunted down and stomped out. Before any direct actions are taken, we'd need to find the extent of her power. If the whole of Malta is on her side, it very well might be time to abandon ship." He takes another data file, and with a little typing on a holographic keyboard, the holotable produces a data chip, which he hands to Chenzo. "Alliance, or even so much as neutrality with the Xenos is a joke. There's a reason their iconography is snakes, it's because that's what they are. They'll use you to get a little more power, and when they got what they think they can get, they'll sell you out to the highest bidder. If the Xenos and De Marco can't be stopped, then I can see pretty clearly that this ends with the Xenos eventually getting the power over Liberty they want, then completely shutting the Outcasts out, using the knowledge of the smuggling routes to end Cardamine in Liberty."

"For you, I heavily suggest getting a feel, as subtly as possible, for who your friends and foes are on Malta. It may be time to start investing in Stabaline, for you and for us. It may not." The holotable's lights dim slightly as it goes into standby. "As much as I'd love to just kill De Marco, and Morreti along with her, that wouldn't solve the problem. We can't let De Marco die a hero and be made a martyr to the masses. If we're going to take her out, she needs to first be a traitor to the people, and then her death will merely be an execution. And for the Xenos, you cut one head and another takes its place. We don't have enough information to take direct actions." He heaves a sigh, and finally takes off his sunglasses, tucking them into his breast pocket. The bright purple ocular implant in his left eye and the tiny holograms it projected in front of his eye were now visible as he walked towards the refreshments. He put a few cubes of ice and some brandy in two of them, and offered one to Chenzo, along with a toast and a bitter smile: "To our eventual survival, Señor"