Ravenwood Bar - Elsmere, Gran Canaria

[Nodoka Hanamura]

She looks to her food and proceeds to down some of the special Ale, and laughs. "Yeah, I've seen how he is the last time I was here. He's easy to put aside his bad mood once you talk about getting one of his favorite drinks."

"Anywho, I don't have qualms with the people of Gallia. I feel bad for them, being subject to punishment of the crown without trial, some of them being dragged out into the street and either taken away or shot. I've been to Planet Marne, I do runs for the Council, smuggling supplies across into Gallic Space. I'm honestly torn between fighting alongside them or the Crayterians. I just feel that the people of both sides are calling to me to aid them in bringing peace and ending the tyrannical reign of the crown. I'm not in it for money. I'm not in it for power. I'm in it for the sake of ending it, Nerva."

She proceeds to eat her food, munching down on it. "I haven't had one of these things since I met Darwin from WMD back on Bethlehem Station in Pennsylvania. A old-fashioned beer-burger. I have a love for western food, as it was called on earth - Things like Fish and chips from Bretonia, Hot dogs and the sort from Liberty and, these big boys here." she giggles. "I do love myself some sushi every now and again, though, but still, nothing beats some good simple food like this."

"Your parents by the way.." she stops eating, and clears her mouth. "My condolences for them. Greed can truly have terrible side effects like that, be it through negligence or just plain ignorance in the pursuit of the all-mighty credit. I try my best to not let it corrupt me."

---

[Nerva Regis]

"Thank you for your kind words. " kind words... that's a rare commodity nowadays.

" Speaking of food, for some reason I always thought that Kusarian food is one of the best in Sirius . I was raised on a Corvo Deep Explorer... so... myeah... Synth Paste was the norm." his face cringes for a moment.

Herr Ulrich enters with a big plate and slams it on the bar counter. " Schei­ße! I apologize for this."

"Don't worry, the food is still there and it looks delicious!", said Nerva preparing to eat today's house speciality.

" Oh, I wasn't worried about the food. That can just be remade as fast as you can say blitzkrieg.", said Ulrich laughing.

" But then...Ow, that's why." said Nerva smiling.

" Ja, my friend. It's the cider that I was worried about." Ulrich pops the cork and starts pouring a glass for Nerva.

Nerva drinks the glass in a blink of an eye, " This... this is the best cider i have ever tasted."

Nerva turns to Nodoka. " You should try it. it's not that strong, but it's really refreshing... " I have to convince him to tell me how he makes it.

[Nodoka Hanamura]

"Don't worry about it. Honya once told me - "Space is vast, and friends are far and too little in between." "

She continues, taking the rest of her drink down.

"I was part of a Experiment by the Kusari Government and Kishiro. They were testing to see how a pure earth human would react and survive in Sirius. I didn't mind it, but asking my approval would have been nice. They kept my Cryopod intact and moved it to Kishiro's HQ to store me until 819 A.S., when they unfroze me.. For the next two years every day they hooked me up to a machine and force fed me information, things from the past, things in recent history.. Even some things that I wasn't supposed to know. I don't know why the latter is the case, they spoke of "Leaked Neural Net Logs". I don't know why. Kusari kept me there in Kishiro for two years. back in 822, I busted out around New Years', and fled to Liberty with two AI I discovered aboard a resold Civilian Shuttle, Honya and Pale Bride. I started living on Erie, and had to mine for my fortune. I still go back there to mine.. There's a good trade route for Helium from Pennsylvania to Sigma-59. If you pay a Samura Rep a good amount of money and ask about it, he'll probably put you on their whitelist since they're hiding in GMG space.. But I digress. I would also do odd jobs, stuff for the Liberty Navy. When the LSF and Liberty Navy had a short row in New York, I fled to the Omicrons, meeting my close friend, Marisa, along the way. She actually was the one who invited me to stay on Freeport 11. She told me the whole story about the place, how the Core tore it to pieces and they had to rebuild it. I got involved in the latter stages of Upgrades and repairs, providing food and materials to finish the job. I still don't know how to feel about the whole peace treaty situation from them to be honest. I heard rumors that Administrator Akibara is making peace with the Core, which does seem true, given I recieved a Missive from the Order alongside the others. I even got praise from Head Administrator Voncloud, when I told the Order off. They think us idiots who will listen to whatever they have to say and believe it! Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't there only one or two Order ships in the fray earlier this month with the Nomads?"

She proceeds to start eating the burger, her hunger growing.

---

[Nerva Regis]

While staring at the glass, he slides over what seems to be some media device.

Spoiler

" The Core and the Order... myeah. That is not going to end well for Zoners."
" I guess, I'm on good terms with both factions. To be honest... I'm not their friend, but I am not their enemy.", takes a good sip from his glass.

"When The Core fought with the Corsairs in Kappa, I went and collected pods from both sides. Dropped the Sairs on Ciutadella, and the Cores on Yaren. None seemed to be angry that I saved them. Although two guys started a fistfight...just after I finished patching them up." Idiots... think they can start a fight on my ship. "Either way, just as I said, this is not going to end well for Zoners." finishes his glass and starts pouring another one. Cowards, all of them. The CoF... what a sodding joke. Freeports are defenseless, but between OSI and IRG there is enough tech and credits to defend each and every one of them. Not to mention the fact that each Freeport has its own assets and credits. Moreover, it's not like someone is going to launch a synchronized attack on every Freeport. How hard can it be to have some defense ships? How hard can it be to have a MK4 and one Hyperspace Beacon on each Freeport...


" I've met Golanski just once until now. I fought Nomads in Honshu alongside Tears of Izanagi and him. But yeah... only two Order ships showed up to fight in Delta... they weren't even part of their main battle unit." Oh well... such is war.

"Until Zoners stop acting like a princess that always needs saving, things will just go from bad to worse." Freeport-2 is down... 11 will be next."

" My interactions with The Core were minimal. A Core destroyer saved my arse when after a dumb glitch I found myself de-shielded and in the middle of the advancing Nomads." Did not expect a Core pilot to help me so fast.
"I never met Loyola, but from what I've heard she seems a bit crazy." But hey, who's not crazy in the Omicrons.

Nerva notices the food is starting to get cold, " Now then, Itadakimasu!"

[Nodoka Hanamura]

She looks at the images on the device.

"I can agree that Things aren't going to end well for me and my Zoner friends on 11, at least If I or someone doesn't change the situation. The biggest problem we have is that the Core will probably show concern or hostility about Freeport 11 or the CoF having some kind of Self Defense Force. Back before I was born, Japan - Kusari, Now a days, on earth, had a Self Defense Force. We were allowed to have a few Destroyers, a few Frigates, one or two small carriers for old rotor-based aircraft, Helicopters, were what they were called back then, but they were mostly phased out around the 2110s. Anywho, we could hold our own against enemy forces. We could defend ourselves. I don't want a Zoner army that Picks sides and gets involved in conflicts outside of defending the Zoner way of life, and the Freeports I and they call home. I want a military whose sole priority is to defend the Freeports and Zoners outside of the houses. The Tazzies have the god damn Persephone, why the hell can't we at least have two Strike groups worth of capitals and 8 Wings of Snubs spread around each Freeport? Would it really hurt us if we put ourselves and our interests to stay alive in this hostile world first?"

She finishes off her burger, and calls to Franz. "Another one, and another Ale too, I haven't eaten in days."

She turns back to Nerva."Golanski comes off to me as a bit of a prick, however, that's only because of that one instance... One person in the missive discussion said that if they gave a damn, the Black Fleet or whatever they call it, would have been in Delta."

She groans slightly, and puts her head down just as Franz takes away the plate. "God, when is Erzie going to contact me... They take a fortnight to reply back.. I know he's a busy man, but this is unprofessional."

---

[Nerva Regis]

He takes back the device, folds it, and places it in this poket.

" It shouldn't be that hard. Couple of Osprey squadrons on each Freeport, one or two Conference, a Corvo and a Fearless would be enough to hold their ground until reinforcements arrive. Put a Hyperspace Beacon on a Corvo, I mean... for crying out loud, even my Corvo has Beacon on it. Now all you need is to form a Zoner Self Defense Force, and I bet a lot of Zoners would gladly join in to defend their homes. " as if CoF would ever approve self-defense forces....

"We have access to all these ships, but we are not using to defend ourselves. Also... you were there when that LNS ship and the Bismark were near Freeport-11." Nerva's grip on the glass strenghtens.

"After trying to prevent anything bad happening to fellow Zoners, and also trying retrieve the Core pilots that were abducted by the LNS. What did I get? A kick in the *** from the Administrator. Even the Core capital ship's captain believed that I should be the only one to remain in the NFZ." the glass shatters in Nerva's hand.

"Oh, my... Herr Nerva, are you ok?" said Ulrich.
" I'm sorry for your glass, just add it to my bill." these new nano-thread gloves seem to work...
" You don't have to apologize. If someone threatened my home or my people, I would have done the same thing as you." said Ulrich while sliding over a new glass.

Nerva turns to Nodoka " I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away..." A Core Captain treated me better than a Freeport Administrator.

[Nodoka Hanamura]

She looks to you, "I was at the tail end of it, I rushed home from the Sigmas to switch out to the Navigium Ejus in case we needed to reinforce the NFZ or defend the Freeport. Why Liberty Navy ships are all the way out here in the Omicrons, god only knows - They'll send ships to Omicron Delta, no where near their territory, let alone their General Area of Operations, but they won't let me fly a damn Hellhound through Liberty space because It was once built and used by Rogues. I have that ship docked at 11 and want to have a quick course to Gallia if the Council needs my help, even though I've said I'm using it against a mutual ally, had been blasting unlawfuls from here to New York, Have been aiding in jobs with the Navy and doing Mining work in Pennsylvania, only for one of their sorry *** frigates to hail me at Norfolk and demand me to pay a fine. I swear to god, If I see a Liberty Navy ship in Delta or in any of the omicrons, I am going to tell his ass that if he's not LSF, to go the hell back to Liberty Space or to the front lines in Bretonia, or I'm going to shove a SNAC so far up his *** he'll wake up speaking Backwards! This is not Liberty, this is the Omicrons! How the Core didn't blast their *** to pieces, is unbeknownst to all but god!" she yells.

"Frau Nodoka, calm yourself. No need to get loud about such things." Ulrich says to her, bringing her food and drink. "Eat, drink and be merry, Ja?"

She collects herself. "Danke, Ulrich, my sincere apologies." she then turns to Nerva. "Same to you.. Anywho..I don't know Kyu Akibara personally. I did see him say "what the hell" under his breath over the UNICOM, given I was squawking a Bowex ident for some reason on the Pudica and a Rheinland Military Ident on Navigium Ejus. I need to get their transponders checked out, something is horribly wonky about them. I told him that I would defend this place after I asked about the situation, and then we left for Gran Canaria. That's partly why I'm here. The rest of the reason relates to IRG... And don't worry about it.. I have a bit of a temper myself when I start thinking of stuff like that."

---

[Nerva Regis]

"Although I spend a lot of my time on Corinth, my interactions with the IRG were minimal." finishes another glass of cider " But, I did purchase two of their Power Cells for my two Corvos. You never know when you need more power... especially now when **** seems to want to hit the fan."

"Also... I only now realized, and correct me if I am wrong..." If this does now scare her.... then we are good.
Slides over some pictures of the Bismark Class that was near FP 11
" This ship... and it's Commander. She said that she wasn't going home and that the Omicrons are her home." he now pours himself a glass of wisky
" I believe that I was talking to an Infected Rhinelander " If she was one, I got away really easy. Almost too easy... The fact that she said that we will meet again is what makes me think of the time...

[Nodoka Hanamura]

She glares over the pictures, analysing them. " I've never seen that ship before, nor have I seen the pilot.. Do you remember their ident? I might alert Akibara about them... If there's Nomads on Freeport 11, I'll throw them out a airlock and watch them perish. Infectees, until we can find a way to uninfect them, are not welcome aboard 11, and I'm certain every human on 11 would stand with me. The only thing I would regret when killing infectees is that they got infected to begin with."

She starts eating her food, munching down on it. "God.. This is probably as close as you can get to earth food..."

---

[Nerva Regis]

"Oh, but Akibara saw it. That ship was there together with the LNS." a LNS and an Infected Rheilander.
Nerva takes a sip from his glass "A grim scenario just passed trough my mind... What if the LNS was also an infected ship?" And the MIGHTY AND ALL KNOWING Akibara just let them dock with Freeport 11
"What do you know of Division 9?"