Ares shuffled past a crowd of young Corsairs, nodding politely as they obviously pointed and whispered about him.
He could just hear them, "Youngest Elder in a century!" and "Red Cross!". They were obviously impressed.
He pushed past, trying not to offend his teenage fans, and stepped through the door into the Council Chamber.
There were a few dozen older men and women here. People whose faces he knew well as the Elders of Crete, once authority figures to himself, now his equals.
Ares took his assigned seat, next to his friend, Pedro Maniaco. He smiled and offered a salute as he sat.
Maniaco began the proceedings...
"Today we welcome a new Elder into the fold, brothers."
Most of the Elders grinned, happy to have the war-hero and amateur political-theorist a part of their ranks. A few frowned, but kept quiet, obviously not happy at having such a young man on the Council, especially one that had a habit of going against Corsair tradition. His beliefs rubbed quite a few of them the wrong way.
They would continue to do so...
One old man, known for his surly temper spoke up quickly after the Elders had given a generally warm-hearted welcome.
"Why are you here, son? You aren't one of us any more! You've betrayed our way of life! You've turned your back on everything we stand for!"
The whole room would have descended into anarchy if Pedro Maniaco didn't speak quickly,
"Enough, brother, Ares has never turned his back on us. He always returns to smite our enemies with righteous fury, does he not?"
The council relented and nodded their acceptance reluctantly.
The young man in the black Coalition uniform felt uneasy. Weren't they meant to be his brothers and sisters, accepting him as their own? He thought swiftly and spoke up, before they could find some reason to be rid of him.
"Elders, brothers, I have always been, and always will be, a loyal Corsair. Why do you think I joined the Revolution?" He didn't await a response, "The suffering on Crete has opened my eyes to Sirius' suffering as a whole. People starve and nobody cares! It has led me to consider the cause..."
He paused.
"The Capitalist scum, the Alliance. They only care for the rich and let the children of Crete starve. This is why I stick by my Revolutionary guns and say that we should change our ways...
We should stop our petty piracy to make ends meet and rise against the Alliance! We can feed every child in Sirius! Never again will a child go the way of the Ventru, my brothers."
There was some muttering in the corners of the room. "Idiocy! What about our ways?!" and "He has a point..." both had their fair share.
Ares stood and motioned with his mechanical hand, "Join us. Join the Revolution and bring equality and justice to Sirius!"
A few gave unsure looks, as if they were almost ready to say 'Yes!', but a larger amount looked furious.
Maniaco intervened again, keeping things balanced.
"Ares speaks well, and has our best interests at heart. Truly a noble goal, if ever there was one.
However, I do take issue with the logistics of this 'Revolution'... We simply are not able to join up with such a force until after we are guarunteed a reliable food source. We can't afford to let our raiders leave in large numbers to incite rebellion in foreign lands.
By all means, Ares, we back the sentiments of your Revolution... but what are we to eat in the meantime?
I hope the others will agree with me when I say that I truly wish you and your comrades the best of luck in your endeavours... but we cannot offer our full, military support due to concerns in the present day.
Should your Communist paradise come to pass, I shall be the first to congratulate the Coalition's brave men and women, but for now I can only say 'Good luck'."
Ares nodded and took his seat again. That bastard was smart. He honoured him with this position to keep the peace in Gamma, and ensure help against common foes and now got away with a 'good luck' instead of ordering the Omega-47 fleet to invade the Houses. Maniaco was always like that... shrewd.
However, whilst there wouldn't be major aid given to the SCRA, he had earned them respect.
The Council didn't look at Ares as some untrustworthy upstart any more. Yes, they may have disagreed with him like Maniaco, but at least they realised that he was one of them, an Elder of Crete.
Juan was silent, and wore a blank look on his face for the whole time. His gaze on Ares never faltered, and as the council settled down, Juan intervened.
"Maybe we could help you. It is true, we have fleets of ships ready to invade. But, they are all engaged in the supply of our people."
He paused as the other Elders frowned, with the exception of Ares, who looked curious.
"If you could guarantee a food source for us, say, a few Biodomes and a planet such as Stuttgart or Cambridge, both major food production centres for Rhineland and Bretonia respectively, then I am sure Pedro and the rest of us could afford to be less cautious with our fleets."
Another pause...
"If the SCRA could capture one of those targets after Rhineland enters the war, then our fleets would assist you in your revolution."
The magic words. Ares smiled happily, while Pedro stared at Juan, and the rest fumed. Such a commitment, with the NovaPG and AW banging at the doorstep.
"Of course, there are conditions. Other Corsairs in our great nation, such as, but not limited to, the Benitez's will be treated as we, the Brotherhood, are to be treated. The SCRA must also have a small bomber garrison on Crete consisting of some up-and-coming pilots and yourself Ares.
When the homeland and its surrounding area is secure from the combined power of the Outcast alliance, and we have enough food to last for the forseeable future, then we will have enough forces for your invasion. After all, if we were to invade now, we couldn't pull back our forces if the homeland were attacked."
Ares raised an eyebrow as Montoya spoke. He made several good points. And after all, the SCRA had planned to capture Cambridge and other planets... so why not use their excessive food production to feed the hungry on Crete?
"That sounds acceptable... after all, the whole point of taking Cambridge is its food production, and our people do need it..."
He pauses,
"You have no argument from me Elder Montoya, in fact I welcome your suggestions. However, you will understand that I cannot make any final decisions for the SCRA, seeing as I don't have High Command status.
I shall relay these ideas to Admiral Viktor Britanov. I think that they will be very well-received by himself indeed.
Any more ideas, amigos? I believe that we can crush the Alliance swiftly and surely, surely you agree?"
"Well, well. It seems brother Montoya has returned well-rested which is great. I may disagree a bit but it seems that appeal of our newest Elder Ares convinced many others. As long as our primary concerns remain our highest priority I agree, but I have one more condition."
Making pauses seemed to be famous that day...
"The Asgard Warriors. Everyone agrees that they have been a real pain in our... you know where. Ares, you know, I never liked the cease-fire between SCRA and AW. Too many young brothers died under fire of their gunboats and fighters in Gamma. As long as this agreement vanishes you have my support. And please, remind Admiral Britanov he still hasn't replied my last message."
And Pedro stood up, and left the room, looking slightly annoyed...
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