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War Vessel Glacier, Above Planet Naaru, Omicron Delta, 1500 hrs.
Finally! Doc was getting his chance to address the Core. He didn't fear them but he did have a heavy level of respect for them. He was tired of hostilities between them and the Zoners but, it wasn't about that. He had an enterprise to run and his research involved travel in and through Omicron Delta. If in his talks with them that resolve could be reached, great. If not, he was there in the interest of medicine and research.
He found the ship in orbit of Naaru that he was supposed to find, the War Vessel Glacier.
"Core vessel Glacier, the is Dr. John Holliday aboard the Marshall Earp requesting docking clearance."
"Dr. Holliday, stand by for a ship scan," was the reply. After a minute or so he was called back, "You are clear, proceed to docking bay one."
Doc proceeded as instructed. While he was being auto-docked, he took a few minutes to prepare himself. He swore that he would never again wear an ambassador's robes but this was a good place for them. He locked his pistols in the safe. He was here to talk, not fight. Besides, he was getting older and had little desire for combat. Instead, he made sure everything was right about his robes before standing by the sliding doors to his hosts.
As expected, he was met with an armed guard. His hands were together in front of him, his hat affixed his head covering his shoulder length but well groomed hair as was his small beard and mustache. Having not been in the area in a very long time, he was respectful with his words, especially with the tension in the area.
"Gentlefolk, it is good to be here," he began, "You will find my hold full of medical supplies and food for you all. It is a token of my good will. You will find the cargo manifest on the table behind me."
The manifest included bio-stability monitors, elixers, pharmaceuticals and a good store of basic medical goods.
"Please, lead the way, Gentlefolk," he said kindly waiting for whatever was next.
The small squadron of well armed guards simply checked him with a stock metal detector, as the man didn't look intimidating, nor is he known for being violent. After having him clear, two of the personnel approached Doc while the rest went back to their posts at the shuttle bay. "We appreciate your said token of good will, be sure that the supplies will be put to good use." After saying what they had to say, the two gestured that Doc follows them. A few cold hallways down, they would arrive at a large armored door which requires two keycards to enter. His escorts approached, pulling out a pair of identical cards from their body armor, pressing them against a dual scanner which was followed by the door sliding open showing the Glaciers bridge, after which he was lead inside. The whole place was what you'd expect from a command bridge. Filled with various computers, a large holographic navigation map in the center, and a professional atmosphere from the crew which didn't even pay a glance to Doc, sticking to their work. The man's escorts would seat him at an odd curved table in the far right corner which had a chair from both sides before departing.
A whole minute would pass, before the door would slide open once more. A familiar figure enters, it was Frostbite wearing his full body augmentation armor as per usual. Approaching the table, he greeted Doc. "Greetings mister Holiday." Though before going in for a handshake, he pressed a small button on the side of his neck, which let the voice modulating mask open and retract leaving everything from the neck up exposed and his long blueish dark hair free. Compared to being fully suited, he doesn't really seem intimidating, but his face showed little to no emotion. He'd guess it's a matter of respect to show your face when having an important talk with anyone really. Finally, he went in for that handshake. "Thought I'd introduce myself. The name is Andrew Frost." He said with an odd awkward smile before taking his seat across the table from Doc. "I must apologize that the Guildmistress was unable to meet you today, hopefully I'm a suitable enough replacement." Putting his arms on the table, with a cold gaze in Doc's general direction, he proceeded to ask. ""Now, what matters do you wish to discuss with the Core? In the communication you mentioned passage through our space, is that correct?"
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It was colder than Doc thought. For now, though, he was OK. He figured he would stick it out. He just looked around as he walked, appreciating the focus of the crew on their work. He wasn't sure what to make of his escort at first in part because he knew so little about the Core.
"Greetings mister Holiday."
"Greetings, Sir...." he replied only to be stopped as the man's mask opened. He wasn't used to seeing full armor such as he was or blue hair.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Frost," he finally answered and shook his hand, "Dr. John Holliday."
"I'm not at all offended that the Guildmistress was unable to attend," he said kindly, "I'm sure she's busy and has obviously placed her faith in you to talk with me. Please do pass along my gratitude and understanding later."
""Now, what matters do you wish to discuss with the Core? In the communication you mentioned passage through our space, is that correct?"
He thought a moment as he put his words together carefully. "That is correct, Mr. Frost. For the longest time, Med Force Enterprises has long worked in space all over Sirius promoting the health, help and welfare of all peoples of Sirius. We have long researched the Nomads as well. Not for their technology but for them, the Nomads themselves. That's more of a personal endeavor of mine than anything else."
"Med Force Three, under the command of Commander Alicia Cook, has been assigned to work in the Omegas and Omicrons," he continued, "providing medical help to all under the banner of neutrality and Med Force Enterprises. The crew of the ship has done this admirably to this point and wishes to continue doing so. Yes, there are Nomad samples on the ship, a cruiser, but they are for research and nothing else. As I said, we aren't interested in the technology as quite frankly, that is beyond our knowledge and scope. We are scientist, researchers and medical staff, not really technicians."
"So yes, I seek safe passage through all of the Omicrons and Omegas," he continued, "Delta included. I know what happened here to a point. I don't know the details and I probably don't need to know. It just disappoints me that all of us who practice the Zoner way have been painted by one, broad stroke based on the actions of others."
He held back some anger but was visibly somber, "I lost some medical staff on Freeport 11 over a year ago during the initial assault. I was angry but recently, the parents of the young lady who was killed told me to let it go, that she went there of her own free will and volition.....which brings me here."
He paused before continuing, "As I said, I seek safe passage and the ability to work in these parts. I have little to offer for compensation, only that even the Core will be given treatment as needed. And while I'm not here to represent Zoners as a whole, if my efforts begin the peace process between them and the Core, then I'll consider that as a plus."
He sat back, having said all he needed to, at least, for the moment.
It was fairly difficult to read what Frost would be thinking due to his stone cold expression, but at least through his words the man seemed reasonable enough. "I always found people like yourself extraordinary. Helping others irregardless of the banner they fly under. Its a noble cause. While the Core has major quarrels with various people and organizations all over Sirius, to me personally the most important thing about an individual is their sense of whats right and whats wrong, compared to a lot of basically cult worshipers of Hydra who think as long as it lights up red it has to die." He paused for a moment, regaining his composure. The man's expression softened, it was no longer as blunt compared to before. Seems that even conditioned soldiers have a little bit of heart.
"I'm sorry about your loss during the whole Freeport 11 fiasco. During that time I just quit my job working for the Omicron Supply Industries and enlisted with the Core, it was my first time witnessing so many people die over something trivial just so that someone could prove its power and superiority. It's a really sad universe, innocent people die every day, and its something we all just have to live with for the rest of our lives." Clearing his throat, he lightly bowed his head. "Excuse my unprofessionality, we'll get back to business at hand."
Taping the table lightly, Andrew would pull up a few holo screens in front of himself, they seem to be filled with some sort of data.
Coughing lightly, he continued. "Now, free passage through ALL the Omicrons is something we can arrange, as well as both safe movement with nomad research materials, as long as you agree to a few simple terms. Don't bother yourself with compensation, treating Core personnel and saving lives that we ourselves also sought to protect is more than enough."
After a few short moments of thinking, he'd push one of the holograms towards Holiday. They contained the laws of the Core. "It is a given that you follow our rules and regulations. If needed I can provide you with a copy of our laws. Apart from that there are a few other things that you have to agree to as I've previously mentioned, which are as followed: Firstly, passage through Omicron Rho will be allowed due to the nature of your organization, as long as sectors B, C, D 2, B, C, D 3 and B, C, D 4 are avoided. Planet Nauru and Core installations are to be avoided in a 15 kilometer radius, unless used to run away from or avoid Nomad attacks or general lunatics who'd feel fine with assaulting a medical ship." With each term worded, Frost would pass over a file with relevant information, such as navigation data marking off limit areas. "Nomad materials will be allowed on board your ships, but the Core will require a full report on the nature and general amount of the contraband you're carrying. Now, last but not the least, a little contrary to what I initially said, you are not to aid ships of the Order Overwatch Primary Fleet under any possible circumstance. Their pilots have lost their humanity and let Golanski's ego rule over them to the point where they consider that killing other humans because of a penile length competition is more important than getting rid of the ever growing Nomad threat. They've had numerous instances where both of our organizations were threatened by a large alien force in which they picked taking out Core vessels as priority over exterminating the scourge of our race. I hope you understand." Pushing over the last projection Frost ended his speech. The holo screen held a folder containing evidence that show the Order clearly prioritizing the killing of Core personnel over an obvious nomad presence. The augmented soldier crossed his arms on the edge of the table, his cold poker face recomposed, looking towards Doc as he waited for an answer.
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Doc's humanitarian side zeroed in on Frost's clearing throat. It was obvious that he had a heart. "Mr. Frost, you need not excuse yourself. We have both suffered loss and we would be less than human if we didn't have a soft side for it," Doc explained, "I don't know how many times you have had to tell a family on the death of a loved one but I've made a steady diet of doing it." He nodded softly, "I never enjoy it."
He looked over the proposed terms. They didn't look unreasonable.
"I've yet to go to Omicron Rho," he stated. "I don't know if any of my ships have to be honest due to a lack of need but thank you for the passage. It may come in helpful. Your facilities will be place off limits according to your conditions as well unless of course, help is requested or as you offered, running from hostile fire."
He then watched the video.
He was troubled about the Order. While his recent meeting with Golanski was largely positive, he was a difficult man to deal with in the past.
"Amazing," Doc stated, "I was in Delta not long ago, having left Freeport 11 with a load of Pilgrims bound for Baffin when I was threatened destruction by a Core ship, hence why I contacted you. Two Core vessels arrived as did a couple of Nomads. While no shots were fired, at least, not while I was around, the Nomads made reference to both the Core and the Order fighting each other and not realizing who the real enemy was. I thought little of it at the time."
"People can be grossly mislead. They follow orders that aren't lawful or just do things that are immoral." He sighed in a degree of shame, "I've had to do it a time or two myself. I'm not proud of it but I had little choice. You won't like this but while I generally don't give aid to ships, I swore an Oath to treat all people equally."
He then asked to see the video again. "May I have a copy of that? I may have some good use for that."
For the first time during the whole meeting, Frost had a sincere smile on him. "I appreciate your understanding mister Holiday. Most people turn awkward and try to move away from a topic which softens up someone that's half man half augmentations as myself." It truly has been a while for Andrew since someone replied with honesty to anything coming out of his mouth that didn't sound as cold as the Glaciers hallways. Still keeping a rather delighted look, he cleared his throat once more before proceeding to pull in all the data put before Doc, swiftly organizing it into a single folder. Precisely as you'd expect from a conditioned soldier. "I'm glad that we were able to reach an understanding so easily. I'll have the Core notified about this as soon as you make your first step out of the bridge." Pausing shortly to push the now organized pile of information back towards Holiday, Frost continued. "If you have any form of data card on you, I'll be more than happy to give you all the material regarding our agreement, as well as everything we have on the Overwatch as far as their stupidity is concerned. It's not exactly confidential intel, so you can use it however you please."
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Doc was impressed and happy. It was rare that he managed a smile but he did. He accepted the material offered and now had a copy of the video.
"May I ask one more thing?" he inquired, "It's nothing heavy or even requiring anything material but if the Core would be OK with it, could it lift it's siege of the Freeport? I will leave medical personnel on it again and don't want to see them harmed. As I said before, I just hate to see all people painted with a broad stroke for the actions of a few and if there should be another incident, I agree, those responsible should be held accountable, not all."
He then added, "I don't have dealing with the Confederation of Freeports and they don't need to know that I suggested this. I figure, letting it be frees up assets for you and gives one less thing to worry about in such hostile space."
Frost noded his head in agreement, though shook his head briefly after, now looking a little dim. "While I understand the logic behind it as well as the benefit both our parties would have from the Core dropping its siege, sadly I cant do anything about it on my own accord even if we share the same opinion. But, I will push the suggestion to Guildmistress Hydra and the high command. It's the least I can do."
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Doc nodded his understanding. "The fact that you will suggest it speaks volumes for your character, Mr. Frost, and of your integrity. I will leave that to your Guildmistress."
He then rose and extended his hand, "I think we have accomplished much in a short time. I thank you for your time and your efforts. You will have no problems from any Med Force Enterprise personnel."
He then awaited his escort back to his ship.
Standing up shortly after, Andrew shook his hand. "And I thank you for your understanding. It was a pleasure talking to you mister Holiday. I'll be dispatching two of our fighters from Yaren to escort you as soon as you're on the move, to assure your safety." The two security personnel which escorted him on the way in appeared through the armored door as the two said their goodbyes, waiting to show Doc the way back.
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