Corfu, Dry-dock A, "meeting" room 1 “Let me correct one point. This did not begin with the Outcasts, nor will it ever. Skirmishes occur, yes, but they were never the casus belli.”
He tapped a few commands into the datapad; archived reports flickered to life.
“The Corsairs have always been more aggrieved by Bounty Hunters than anyone else. One day they staged a false-flag incident, claiming an Elder’s son had been killed by a Hunter. They didn’t even wait for an answer—because they knew we’d demand proof—and they stormed the Freeport.” He sighed. “One of the darkest days in Zoner history. And the reason we believe that firmly enforced neutrality, not mere ‘live and let live,’ is the only viable course.”
Cayran met the colonel’s gaze, steady and resolved.
“Which is also why I won’t risk permanently hosting a non-Zoner strike force. It would jeopardize our diplomacy across the board. In the face of a major threat, we can expand capacity for volunteers and offer generous bounties, but not a standing foreign garrison.
As for the Outcasts, their presence here is minimal and transient. And this station will never become a cardamine market, if that’s your concern.”
He added, more evenly:
“This station will operate as a neutral ground. It’s the main gateway to the Omicrons; even we cannot afford to close the gate to all but friends, or we fail as Zoners. It can be infuriating—I know—but everyone benefits from true neutrality.”
The hologram resumed its slow rotation of the projected superstructure as Jonathan’s hand hovered over it.
“Regarding additional weapons platforms: that would be a separate project, should Pygar’s strategic value rise. For now, Pygar is a shelter, ringed by dangerous ruins, and we’ll scale defenses accordingly.”
The Colonel replied briefly to Jonathan’s summary. He took a brief pause to process the information. Soon enough, he started speaking, and it promised to be a long one.
"Tell me what possible guarantees you envision for the Sirius Coalition workers’ participation in this project? During our conversation, we discovered that docking privileges for our ships could be expanded, but deploying our forces openly as a defensive garrison on the station is not possible. The Coalition receives monetary value from the Phoenixes under construction, research and delivery contracts in exchange for providing our services, resources, and specialists for this project.
I’m more concerned with granting Coalition personnel rights within territories under your control, including the possibility of establishing a branch to conduct operations to prevent enemy attacks and defensive actions, as an extension of our existing agreements from the Corfu upgrade period, when Coalition personnel were operating there. Currently, our ships can only resupply at Corfu and are not allowed to remain in drydock permanently.
I’m more interested in the possibility of implementing this on Planet Pygar. Our personnel stationed there will be accountable, within the agreed-upon limits in connection with Sirius Coalition and Zoner law, to Phoenix command as well, to ensure their activities are open and transparent to the command, represented by you (Jonathan). Weather conditions and atmospheric interference allow us to conceal our presence from enemy radar and others, but as additional security measures, we will establish protocols for the absence of Coalition insignia and a number of other measures to prevent disclosure of our presence to others.
The fate, lives, and health of Coalition and Zoner citizens also hold high priority in this matter, as during construction, Corsair attacks on the station are highly likely, should they become aware of it. In this context, I am committed to ensuring maximum security for both sides for this and many other reasons. In this context, I believe this proposal makes sense. We can create a joint consultative council or advisory body, or a headquarters if you will, with representatives from both the Coalition and the Phoenixes, which will oversee the actions of personnel on the planet Pygar. The powers will be standard for such joint bodie. Oversight will also be exercised jointly, with documentation and requests being processed through you. The Coalition advisor will essentially liaise with personnel on the planet, providing information on approaching enemy forces or dispatching them on missions to destroy nearby Corsair convoys. This step will improve dialogue and partnerships between Coalition and Phoenix."
Biryukov tried to speak as openly as possible to convince Jonathan of the correctness of this path. The safety of the workers and other Coalition citizens was his primary concern, and these measures would at least ensure, if not complete protection from Corsair attacks, then at least minimize potential casualties during construction from external threats. Biryukov was prepared to agree to a common staff body, shared authority, and shared command. He wanted to establish a joint headquarters, appoint an advisor to lead the staff on Pygar, and serve as the responsible representative of the Coalition's interests to the Phoenixes, with the ensuing obligations. But also tried to show possible perspectives of such measure in long perspective, as representative body, but undercover.
