He closed his mouth, his thought not complete. Inhaling through his nose, he got up and paced on the floor of the chamber. His shadow reflected on the tables and chairs as he paced. Lucendez came to a stop.
"A sword like that can not be broken by a single blunt force. No laser or plasma beam may sear through it. And it can not even be chipped by coming into contact with another of it's kind. But the sword has one weakness. Small amounts of pressure, over a great amount of time will weaken the blade to the point that even flesh and bone can snap it like a toothpick."
Juan Lucendez turned and paced back to Montoya. He reached into his flight suit. Montoya braced for a gun but a folded booklet of paper came out instead. He spread it on a nearby table. Montoya looked at the sheets.
Quote:History of the Brotherhood
There are a lot of fellowships among the Corsairs. The Brotherhood proudly claims to be one of the oldest ones. <strike>We are a militant group of radical Corsairs who prefer to achieve their goals by force than by using diplomatic ways as the diplomacy has repeatedly proven to be useless and leads to corruption rather than to its intended goals.</strike>
<strike>Brothers of the Brotherhood are all equal. There are no titles, no ranks, no supremacy, no officialties. We help each other, learn from each other and treat each other as a brother.</strike> We try to avoid the personal pride from staying between us. Not that we are not proud, but we are proud to be the members of the Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood is led by a group of older and skilled Corsairs, the Elders. They are the most respected ones among the rest of brothers, but once they get too old, they optionally step aside and let the younger ones take their place. The word of the Elder is a rule and is always obeyed.
Our sworn enemies are the Outcasts (in the first place), Bretonians and Rheinlanders. We take every chance to fight them but this is not the only way to make them weaker. The other way is piracy. The more traders we pirate, the less profit they bring to their houses. And hunting a Cardamine smuggler has always higher priority, then hunting an ordinary trader. However if you spot a smuggler with load of Alien Artifacts, or a trader bringing resources to our home system, it's suggested to leave them alone.
"So, how many liberties are we prepared to sacrifice in the name of security? Our enemies can not destroy us with brute force, our forefathers saw to that," Lucendez panned his hand around the room, "but we can be destroyed from within. Yes, I think we should exert power over those in Gamma. BUT, the fact that the SCRA are involved to such a degree worries me. The simple fact that a member of their military is an Elder worries me. I know Ares is your friend and I believe you when you say he is not a traitor, but the simple facts remain. That sword was broken because my good friend believed he was invincible. That sword simply reminds me that strong things can be broken over time."
His rant ended, he slumped down into a plush chair. His brown eyes reflected firelight and his hands hung loosely over the armrests. The weight was off Lucendez's chest and he inhaled once more and exhaled heavily. He looked at Montoya for a response.
"The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace. The foundations of the Mansion House hotel stuck up above the ground. The stone was chipped and split by the fire. It was all that was left of the town of Seney. Even the surface had been burned off the ground.
Nick looked at the burned-over stretch of hillside, where he had expected to find the scattered houses of the town and then walked down the railroad track to the bridge over the river. The river was there."
