Colin Breen was perhaps one of the younger men in the room, let alone candidates for Consul. He was painfully aware of this fact as he began to speak.
"I didn't see Founders Day." he began anew. "And I didn't see Cork. I didn't see the signing of the treaty. And I haven't seen years of bloody battle against our enemies." Colin paused for another moment. "But, fer the things that I haven't seen, I've 'eard. You see, I lived with me dad, I guess, but it was me grandfather, a true Molly, 'oo raised me. Me dad left the Mollies, and then 'e left me alone. And me grandfather became a sort of dad to me. And from 'im, I've 'eard about the 'istory of us Mollies, until I can almost see the things 'e talks about. 'E 'ad such passion, such a fire inside 'im. It would do any Molly good to 'ave known 'im. 'E was always telling me about things that would break any man's 'eart. He told me about Founders Day. About the original revolt, about the Armed Forces, about the slaughter. 'E told me about it so many times, I was almost as if I was there. Same with Cork. 'E talked about it so much, I could see it through the tears in 'is eyes when he spoke about losing most of 'is family to the bombs. I think that I feel what he felt. He put into me the wounds 'e 'ad taken 'is entire life. But 'e also put into me courage, bravery, and 'onour. 'E made a proper Molly out of me, and I think that was 'is goal all along, to bring the family back to the Mollies. 'E was a great man, God rest 'is soul - 'is fire's since been extinguished by the world, yet another old Molly gone from these bloody skies. When 'e died, I knew the only thing left fer me to do was fly out here and join my kin. I carried few things with me. My ship, the clothes on my back, and 'is fire inside me heart, the fire of a good, old, Molly, the likes of which you've never seen."
"And I believe in all 'is goals, all 'is dreams. I dream of a united and liberated Dublin. I believe in our fight, the fight of the Mollies so many seem to forget nowadays. We fight against opression, we fight against BMM, we fight against injustice. We fight for a free Dublin. And we fight for peace."
Colin 's eyes drifted to Noal for just a split second as he paused, and then he continued. "The Corsairs are not, and never 'ave been, our primary target or enemy. Yes, they've killed countless people, and this is truly tragic. We should punish them many times over for it - but they are an enemy made on the wayside of our true goal, the goal that our fathers and grandfathers fought and died for. The fight against the Armed Forces and BMM - against injustice. It's the fight fer freedom they fought, the fight fer Dublin. That's what my grandfather fought fer, that's what all yer fathers fought for, and that's what we all should fight for!"
Colin stopped and swallowed before continuing. "Now, we don't 'ave superior military might. We can't destroy the Corsairs, no matter 'ow much we swear at 'em. And the BAF and BMM are tough old beasts as well." Colin grew more somber. "We don't have the greatest chances of winning against them, lads. They're an entire house, and we're just a bunch of angry old miners. We can fight, aye, and we can fight well, but when it comes down to it, we just don't have enough resources to keep this up."
Colin grew quieter. "Now, me grandfather, old angry man that he was, also knew this, and I think that by the time 'e died, 'e'd accepted the fact that our victory couldn't come through arms alone. And I think perhaps I 'elped give 'im that idea. We might be able to wrest control through violent means, and then again, we might not. I think..." Colin almost braced for an expected reaction from the crowd, "I think it's 'igh time we became the better men and stood up an' tried to talk on a level field. I think the Bretonians, and the Corsairs, are growings as tired of this conflict as we are. They've wounded us both deeply, and I think we might 'ave wounded them in return. This will continue indefinitely. But someone has to finally step up and drop these grudges and prove themselves the better, and I say, let the better be us! And if we can't reason with formal diplomacy, let us prove ourselves on the battlefield - let our fighter pilots use their word and wit to win battles against our enemies, not their guns! Violence is a means, yes, but a more conducive means is reasoning. If we act with our words and avoid combat, our reputation will take turn for the better in the minds of the people, then they may hear us out - if we can perhaps turn them to our cause, we might gain enough popular support to be heard by the governments."
"I person'ly think the future's a bright one, but it lies within Bretonia. The Corsairs are an outside problem. The BAF and BMM are an inside problem, and the more critical for that. Our focus should lie with them. But, everything considered, I think Dublin's skies may again be gold instead of red. I believe that we can win this war of ours. I believe that we can win this war with more than guns. I think that words may be just as useful to us now as anything else. I wouldn't be surprised if when we expressed a wish to drop past grudges and be reasonable, others might also. I think that we can make it through all this, survive, like we always 'ave. I 'ave 'igh 'opes fer us all, and 'igh 'opes for the Republic."
