(//It's long, I know, but I feel that everything that needs to be said has been said here.)
The wavering image projected from the silvery device's center was the holographic rendering of a lean, wiry, raven-haired clean-shaven Corsair; youthful, not yet long an adult, yet possessed of a certain wry awareness that lent him a slight air of belonging, even among the ancient, hallowed halls of the Corsair Council chamber. A slight grin lay about his lips as his image appeared among the Council, but vanished as the holographic Corsair straightened and began to gesture as he spoke.
Esteemed Elders - representatives of the Brotherhood, the Benitez familia, and the Omega Pirates' Guild - amigos - I come before you today with a proposal that some of you may find... controversial. Impudent, even. Yet I beg you to consider not only your personal opinions of us - my brothers and I are aware that we've stepped on some toes since we came into the limelight - but also what would be best for the Corsairs as a whole. No mere settling of scores is at stake here - the Council has, since ancient times, spoken for our nation, and I feel it is vitally important that we come to a verdict here that benefits us all.
Before all else, senors, I wish to apologize for our approach to dealing with your venerable factions. Perhaps we did not fire the first shot - a renegade Corsair is responsible for the actual conflict, and we regret not having recognized the threat and halted it in its tracks - but we were certainly the first aggressors. We called the honor of house Benitez into question, and for that, senors, we humbly beg your pardon. My brothers and I are young and inexperienced, Elders - we vocally criticized our hermanos, not realizing that, in doing so, we caused strife within the Corsairs as a whole. We had thought it just... innocent wordplay, not realizing how serious our words truly were.You must forgive us, senors - we were most outspoken, and we are now teaching ourselves to keep silent on such matters. We would greatly appreciate guidance and counsel in such matters, Elders - you are far more experienced in the matters of politics than we, and we submit to your wisdom and judgement. We were truly foolish, and we pledge not to disrespect the Council again.
Senors, as you all know well, blood has been shed amongst the OPG, Benitez, and Reyes. Much dispute was held over at which door fault for this conflict lies - in my opinion, Elders, all such argumentation is nonsense. Rather, we must ask ourselves - why was this conflict had?
The answer lies with the condition of the nation as a whole. It is my opinion, and that of my brothers, that the status quo amongst the Corsairs needs changing. We are a great nation, Elders - the Corsairs are the most powerful force in Sirius. We, the Reyes familia, felt that not enough was being made of our inherent advantage - that we'd become defensive - that we'd become complacent. In our ignorance, we sought a scapegoat, and found it in house Benitez. Hermanos, we cannot express our regret enough. It was folly. However, good did come of this. An interesting question presented itself - could (even) more be made of the Corsairs? Could we grow even greater?
We, esteemed senors, thought yes. We still think so now. We felt that we as a whole had the potential to become even greater than we already were. So, Elders, we, the Reyes familia, set out to bring the Corsairs glory - and that is where we encountered the fatal flaw in our thinking. We, in our misguided attempt to better the Corsairs by railing against you, the Council, failed to recognize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. How could bringing struggle, strife and conflict to the Corsairs possibly better our great nation? All our great Corsair familias - Benitez, the Brotherhood, and the fierce Omega Pirates' Guild - contribute to make us strong. Infighting could only weaken us as a whole - by fighting to improve the nation, we were, in fact, causing it harm.
My brothers and I owe much to the respected Elders of the Council for making us see clearly once more. I pledge to you, Elders, that the Reyes familia has abandoned its... divisive agenda, I believe Elder Carlos spoke of it as? (Incidentally, senor, we are much indebted to you - you have restored our honor to a great degree.) Divide and conquer, amigos, has a flipside - divided nations fall. No more will we struggle against our brothers - now that we've been cleared up and made a little wiser, we intend to devote our energies to bettering the Corsairs by working alongside them.
Now to the meat of our proposal. Brothers, the Reyes familia has undoubtedly caused problems. We have disrupted the peace. However, it cannot be denied that, in doing so, we have proved our worth - indeed, in my opinion, we proved our spirit in battle against the OPG, whose members are among the Corsairs' fiercest fighters, and I feel that the fights held were conducted with mutual goodwill. I respect you deeply, my OPG hermanos - you are valiant indeed. I cannot lie - I enjoy battle, senors. Conflict is in my blood. However, conflict ought to be focused outward, not inward - thank you, Elders, for making this apparent to us.
As I was saying, Elders - we feel that we, the Reyes familia, have much to offer the Corsairs. We have repeatedly proved our worth, we have a voice of our own, and we have the potential to shape future events alongside the established Council. Rather than giving us a slap on the hand for our sins and sending us away - I have a different proposal. It may appear controversial, even radical, to some of you - we are very young indeed - but, as many of my hermanos here ought to remember themselves, age has little to do with ability. Senor Gentle especially ought to know what I'm talking about.
Senors - grant the Reyes familia a seat on the Council. But one; we ask no more. We would not think to have the auspices to compare ourselves to such an established faction as the ancient Brotherhood - we are suitably humble and ask for but one seat to represent the Reyes clan as a whole, though we know well that even that much would be a tremendous honor. We could not threaten the established balance of power.
Elders of Benitez. We have wronged you, si, but we also know that you are honorable men that seek peace for the Corsairs. Join us in this venture, we ask of you - peace to our brethren, war to those that would seek to destroy us.
Elders of the Brotherhood. You are among the most venerable of Corsairs - you have an unblemished history of service. I ask you to grant us the honor of placing your support behind us - we are capable enough, you know this, but we will need much guidance in the days to come, and where better to look in that regard than to you?
Elders of the OPG. Your bravery is unsullied - you are unforgiving and merciless fighters, and we Reyes would gladly fall in with you. Let us wage war against the Outcasts and the filthy Houses together, rather than separately, si? There is much glory to be won.
Please, Elders, consider this well. The Corsairs as a whole would be better for this additional seat than without it - we are mightier together than apart. We have much to offer our nation - the wise leader takes advantage of every resource at his disposal. As always, we remain humble and submit to your judgement.
