Miguel had tired from the discussions going on in the Council, so he decided to take out his Eagle for a quick circle around Crete's orbit. The blackness of space always helped clear Miguels mind. He thought today would be much the same, until he reached orbit. There, sitting outside the docking ring was a single Titan, whose IFF had to be some kind of mistake. The Titan was broadcasting the name [+]Maniaco, it had to be come kind of hallucination Miguel thought to himself, while throttling up his ship, he felt like he was chasing a ghost. Finally, Miguel opened his comm "Pedro?....is that you??" a moment later a familiar voice broke the static. "Miguel, it is me..." Miguels mind sputtered at the thought, how could this be, Pedro had died when the Altaneria had gone down in Sigma 13, as the Brotherhood was retreating from Rheinland space. This couldn't be, Miguel was thinking to himself, before he had a chance to take the conversation any further, Pedro's ship made a move for the docking ring, and disappeared, as quickly as he had appeared. Miguel's mind kept going back to thought that he was chasing a ghost. Miguel set a course for the docking ring, and the Council chamber hanger beyond that, it was time to report this to the rest of the Council.
Setting his Eagle down, Miguel, jumped out and ran for the Chambers, throwing open the doors and looking at Green Hawk and the Junker, he said "Gentlemen, I thank you for coming here and making yourself available for the Councils questions. Green Hawk, return to Yangi, and we shall inform you of any decision we come to. Senor Tinkerbell, the Council thanks you for your time. Now I must ask you Gentlemen to leave....immediatly." With that two guards emerged to escort Green Hawk and Tinkerbell out of the Chambers, when they were gone Miguel looked around at his fellow Elders, confusion at this abrupt action was evident on their faces.
"Hermano's..... Pedro Maniaco is alive.....and he has returned to us."
When Sephardi took a break, most of the people in the Chambers decided to get a drink or socialize. Juan went down to the bar and obtained an old favorite. Elder Miguel burst into the room, stunning the patrons.
As the deafening silence enveloped the Chambers, Juan's Tequila milkshake slurped rudely.
"Rumors of Maniaco's death have been greatly exaggerated. Though at first it was only a small cabal. Trust me Miguel when I say I was only informed of this several days ago. I remember being on the Altaneria at the time of the evacuation. The realization that Maniaco was on that ship as it's reactor went critical. I had to see him in flesh and blood to believe it myself, though he was unconscious when I saw him."
Juan set aside the empty glass and thought for a second.
"Though if what you say it true, this probably means Maniaco is feeling better. Montoya's message didn't say anything about why he was so sick, just that he was already close to death and getting worse."
Saying all he could, the Elder sat back with a raised eyebrow.
"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."
"Feeling better?... Yes... One could call it that way.", silent and to some of them very familiar voice was heard from the entrance.
Absolute silence again overwhelmed everyone in the Council Chamber.
Pedro Maniaco slowly stepped in and without any words spoken shook hands with all present Elders looking into their eyes for a long time. Most of them he knew, some faces were less familiar. OPG was back in the game, which was good, but there was not a single Elder from the Benitez family present which worried him a bit. Pedro could remember all the effort to finally bring peace and unity between the main Corsair groups.
He stopped at Ben Laowai. His uniform didn't show any signs of factionship. An independent Corsair but yet with access to the Council Chamber. Interesting, this man must have proved to be wise and skilled enough to be invited among the Corsair leaders. Ben's face was familiar but Pedro didn't know him personally. Maybe they just met on Cadiz, or maybe even in the Crete's bar. He wasn't sure, his memories were still clouded in some areas.
After he greeted everyone, Pedro walked to his chair which was still unused and sat down.
Then he finally broke the silence: "So anyone would mind to briefly summarize events that affected the Corsair Nation in the recent past to me?".
Pedro looked at Ben and continued: "Maybe and independent point of view would be a good start?"
The silence in the room was unusual Ben felt the eyes of the newcomer on him, waiting for a response.
He knew of Elder Maniaco by reputation, by name, he seemed familiar, but he could not remember if they had met, or if he had seen him from afar at some other time and place.
He became aware of his status as a relative newcomer here, despite his age, it gave him pause for a moment but then he gathered his thoughts and answered.
Where should I start? Much has happened..
Internally, we seem poised on the eve of a new show of unity among our people, politics divided our factions some time ago, which is why you do not see anyone of the Benitez familia here, however, an offer for them to take up three seats was recently made by Gentle Ben glanced in his direction, And I believe they are in the process of organizing themselves
Our ranks have continued to grow, the Benitez and the OPG in particular have increased their ranks from among our up and coming pilots this has allowed us to have extended reach within our own space, with increased force and also allowed us to consider extending that reach.
He took a small sip of water and considered what else to add..
The Brettonians concluded a ceasefire of sorts with the Mollies, which raised the possibility of a single front there, however the Mollies have quietened down and we have not seen any major military action on their part for some time. There have also been reports of a neutral state now existing between the Outcasts and the forces of Brettonia.
The Bounty hunters still plague us, their raids ebb and flow, recently it has increased, were more than holding them back though, it cannot be ranked at anything above nuisance value - such is the strength and quality of our forces at the moment.
Hessian activity still tends to be sporadic, but they are quite split between their front with us and with Rheinland.
Another note, the SCRA after a period of inactivity have began a more aggressive serious of operations against us they have been seen in our space quite often recently.
He paused and then said. And that brings us to the Outcasts...
Apart from their usual activity, we now know they are in collusion with the Nomads
The other man raised an eyebrow, and Ben went on Yes, we now have mounting evidence that this collusion is real, and it seems to exist at multiple levels within the Outcasts power structure. Whether by infestation or consciously is still the subject of an ongoing investigation. Cardamine is a key agent here, and we are investigating this heavily whilst moving to aggressively hamper its trade.
In answer to this new threat we have taken several new moves - we have solidified previous informal relationships, allowing our forces to base and deploy far further out than we traditionally have. We are also exploring new avenues in answer to this, we opened several new contacts. New diplomacy..
We can of course supply you with any other information you might need, and im sure many in the Chamber will wish to add their own perspectives on recent events
With that, he sat back in his chair, looking around the room he waited for the others to speak.
"Let's forget about the SCRA and Bretonians, Bounty Hunters and Red Hessians for now and move to this Outcast/Nomad collusion. Are there any signs what role does the Cardamine play in this plot? Rumor has it that the Outcasts are working on something new." Pedro's body was suddenly weak and he had to sit down.
"This is just a wild guess, but where does all the wealth and power of the Outcasts come from?", he asked.
He heard the silent "Cardamine" from several places. They must still have been surprised by his sudden appearance.
He continued: "Could it be possible that together with the Nomads they are working on a new Cardamine derivative? A new drug that could easily replace the old Cardamine but it would have something added in it. Some unknown matter making it possible for the Nomads to control the addicted ones? Could you imagine what would this mean?"
He looked at the pale faces and continued.
"We must act now, because if that's true Sirius has never been in greater danger! Are there any available spies that could confirm this. Any words from the Colonials? Could we ask the Junkers to help us with investigation?"
Pedro looked around the table waiting for responses.
*static*.......... gah! dirty scum sucking ^&*(*$ Amigos.....*Static* .....Clean the signal damnit you stupid wench.....*SLAP*...... ok ok darling. AH!
Amigos this is your hermano...Gentle. My diplomatic ship was destroyed in bering by some idiot Bounty Hunters. I hate to say it. My wives rescued me. Im aboard the VenganzaDelLaPuta the OTC vessel that has been supporting
smuggling operations in liberty I was picked up by a junker ship and they offered him...services..... and he traded me for a harlot or two for the evening.....ive bought the lad a drink and given him a wife for keeping me alive.
Anyway I digress. My mission to meet the rogues has been unsucesful so far however the Putas have some great news. They have contacted 2 women from the Alpha region of corsair descent. They have information amigos. That which we have sought is soon to be recovered. I have sent for a vessel to take me back to gamma. The OTC vessel I am onboard now is being sent to the sigmas to help recover our spies.
Also amigos another message has reached me. Our amigos and hermanos in the benitez have a problem. our new security system prevents them from even getting near the council chambers. If you are all still happy for them to retake some seats and grow the unity of the corsair people one of you will need to send some new pass cards to the 3 benitez delegates. I would send them myself however I am currently........drunk and in bed with 6 women hahahahahaha! i will return soon my mission here must be postponed.
Esmeralda get me some whisky then come and show me what..... *Static*
"Rather than give them codes, just have the security network changed to allow them in, and once Carlos has determined who will accompany him we'll inform the guards. It's high time we had the Benitez Familia's input on these matters."
He went on; "I'm not sure if Gentle and i are referring to the same thing, but intelligence on happenings in Alpha is continuing to arrive, as soon as i am able to compile this into a report i will be making it to the council and to the wider Corsair intelligence community - as yet though, i have few contacts in the area of Cardamine research of the nature that Pedro has noted"
"Events in Sigma 13 have become slightly more interesting, our people there have noted an increased Outcasts presence, seems they have taken exception to the Junkers appointment of Green Hawk - I've noticed with some amusement their discomfort.... however, i suggest we continue to monitor events carefully, if Outcasts forces in the area start to impinge on our regular forces that operate in the area it might become an issue we need to address further"
Miguel reached down an hit the control panel on the table in front of him, activating the comm unit, he dialed up the commander of the Chamber Guards, "Hermano, you shall grant access to the Benitez delegation, standard Elders security protocols are to be extended to their delegation. As always, any weapons are to be left in the anti-chamber. The Benitez delegation is to be shown the utmost respect. Comprende?" Without waiting for a confirmation, Miguel turned off the comm unit. "Now, while we wait for our Benitez hermanos... a drink anyone?" he said, while pouring himself another glass of the brown liqueur.
Juan declines the drink from Miguel, indicating his full stomach.
"As far as I'm concerned, Sigma 13 is an unintentional red herring. The more Outcasts it drains from Alpha the better. As long as our course isn't diverted from our path, Sigma 13 can be a war of attrition."
"This new Cardimine talk worries me, I must admit. Even if Cryer finds a way to synthesize regular Cardi, this new breed may be out of their hands."
Juan collapsed in the chair. His palm cupping his forehead.
"I'm at a loss ladies and gentlemen. I believe I need some air."
Juan stood up, bowing out of the chambers.
"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."
An aide approached quietly and whispered in his ear, nodding, Laowai waved him away and then interupted:
"before you leave, i have just received news of some import"
He retrieved his data pad from within his coat and placed it onto the table; quickly interfacing it with the small inbuilt table-top pad in front of him he entered a code and sent a data packet to each of their monitors.
"I've just received word that the data from the agent i place in Omicron Alpha has now been compiled, i have sent it all to you directly."
He flicked on his own monitor, the screen of which showed him the first of several text transcripts of the voice logs his sister had sent him. "You can see gentlemen, there is definitely something of note happening in Omicron Alpha, it seems our estranged cousins have finally let the drugs go to their heads..."
He continued "I have been receiving these messages and transmissions now for the last month, you will forgive my not informing any of you, the only one who was aware was Elder Pedro Maniaco, others were only informed at the last minute for the retrieval of the operative, which i was unable to see to. The messages have load out and comm details of our vessel edited out, we could not risk interception of the transmissions and the mission being blown..."
Sipping some of the drink that had been poured him, he let them browse for a moment "At this point, there seems to be a definite reverence for the Nomads without question, as you know from our recent contacts with the Zoners, the Outcast leadership claims this is an isolated occurrence, but you will see that it is clear that this sentiment runs throughout Outcast society, its affiliates and even Cardamine Smugglers - we do not know as yet im afraid, how widespread this is, but if this intelligence is anything to go by, what we are seeing here might very well be merely the tip of the iceberg"
"we have examples of actual cooperation at hand, as well as communication which seems to be semi regular in nature - i do not need to remind you of the potential danger of a society that is enslaved to a drug that is controlled by a people who seem to have a quasi religious reverence for a species that attacks our outposts in Omicron Delta, and our forces in Gamma, Kappa as well, on a daily basis."
He paused again, letting the assembled Elders take their time over the documents he had provided.
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