Intermission

[Fiorella de Marco]

She narrowed her steely blue eyes, fringed with long lashes, and offered a silent, wry smile. She returned Chenz's icy gaze with equal frost, apparently spurred on by his personal jabs at her. It was evident she harbored thoughts waiting to be voiced, yet she courteously allowed her rhetorical adversary to finish his speech.

"I perceive that our trade with the Xenos has struck a personal chord, Don Chenzo, but a prudent politician should neither be led nor motivated by vanity. Pursuing its satisfaction leads only to myopic decisions and the repetition of errors. You speak grandly of the future, yet yearn to drag Malta back to a past - an era where we emulated the Corsairs in building empires and massive fleets and when the Xenos were but a feeble and pitiful group of brutish terrorists barely surviving in Silverton, Colorado. Despite all efforts by the Junkers and their mercenaries, the Liberty Rogues, and even us, the Xenos are now the largest faction in Liberty. They will either obstruct our path in Liberty, or they will pave it. No silver bullet exists for their eradication; we have searched in vain for over a century. You may choose to war with them if you wish, yet I would not presume all of Malta will rally behind you. This trade has already been profitable, allowing us to spread our influence further in Liberty."

"Regarding your request, we are already acquiring vast quantities of prefabricated materials and components not only from Rheinland, but also from Bretonia, Liberty, and Kusari. We construct our ships, our weapons, and our homes from them. Malta is scarce in mineral resources, and our heavy industry is woefully inadequate for our needs. We have agents who, for a fee, procure everything our hearts desire without groveling before the Houses and adhering to their demeaning rules. This is, after all, why we ultimately reconciled with the Zoners at Freeport 10 despite their intrusion to our innermost territories. Unless you intend to invite Rheinland corporations into Omicron Alpha to ship goods to us - which I hope you do not - what you propose differs little from what we already do. We must use our agents either way, but at this juncture - we would merely cast unwarranted aspersions on them and jeopardize the reputation they require for their livelihood."

After completing her rather lengthy monologue, primarily directed at Don Chenzo, Fiorella de Marco turned her attention to the other meeting participants.

"Gentlemen, what are your views on the Rheinland issue Don Chenzo proposed?"

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Fiorella Arianna de Marco | As Dawn Mayflower
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