The doors of the Council hall swing open and a large, middle-aged, dark skinned man in ceremonial robes, and a large crown of green feathers, flanked by a pair of bodyguards in feather and Jaguar pelt adorned robes walk in. He is carrying a large ceremonial obsidian knife, also adorned with feathers, while his one of his escorts carries a large spear, the other carrying a wooden sword, set with obsidian blades and ornately carved. The man and his entourage walk over to an open space at the table, at which sits a cubic block of granite, carved with ornate patterns in an evidently meso-American style. He takes a seat upon the block, placing his knife on the table in front of him, with the guards standing fast behind him.
He takes a deep breath and surveys the other members of the Council, and the guest present before speaking.
"You must forgive my late arrival, I had to give offerings to Huitzilopochtli in thanks for another great victory in Omicron Theta recently. However, it is good to walk these halls once again, and it is good to see that the Gods have seen fit to keep us all alive for so long in these times of war."
"To the matters at hand though, it seems that yet again the men of the Omicroners have decided to make war with us in spite of our treaty."
He looks at Silvan with a certain degree of hope upon his face.
"But Senor Silvan, I hear, has brought some manner of sense to their chaos. Now, I also hear that the men of the Omicroners have far less support among other Zoners than they think, and we are very grateful for various other Zoner groups' continued train of supplies brought to us."
"Senor Silvan, I assume you know of this support, and I assume you realise the perilous situation the Omicroners are in? We must use this support, that of so many other Zoners to avoid the destruction of Freeport 9, as it is still of much greater use to us intact than destroyed."
"What can you tell us of the state of the Omicroners and the Freeport? Is the same dislike for the Omicroners held by many aboard Freeport 9? For we too wish peace, but as the Gods have shown us so many times in the past, peace comes at a cost, and we must prepare for all eventualities."
I wish I could say that Freeport 9 will be easy to free from the grasp of the Omicroners Elder. However, I must give a somewhat darker assessment. The vast majority, if not all, of the other residents of Freeport 9 are Omicroners themselves. It is for that reason that my efforts thus far have been less than effective. I have tried to talk to them time and time again and have been rebuked time and again.
I am indeed aware if the lack of support they have amongst the Zoner populace, and it is my hope that this can be utilized to great effect. No offense intended Elders, but military might alone seems unable to dislodge them. Perhaps some political pressure may be beneficial in this situation. However such decisions are beyond my power to make. The leaders of the groups involved would need to be contacted and consulted on the matter.
Silvan sighed audibly
I wish that the news I bring could be lighter. I really wish things were less dire than they are. But we must come to some course of action. There must be some solution to this problem we have yet to find.
Silvan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now came the moment of truth. How would the Elders react to such dire news? Silvan wondered these and many other thoughts.
The hall door opened, and Espi entered. Behind him, two men were carrying a wooden crate with a black bull's skull painted on it. Espi sat down and the men dropped the crate next to him.
So ... All families have reps here. Let's get this show on the road amigos?
He picked up a few bottles and put them on the table. In the darkness of the room, they were glimmering with a slightly blue light. He opened the one he was holding and raised it above his head while standing...
One of the chairs, which was a bit more distant from the gathering place spinned with awfuly annoying sound. After few seconds Rodrigo found him self in the center of attention. While being in a bit uncomfortable situation he mumbled:
'Oh don't mind me.. old chair. I was here for a while, listening. I know I'm much younger compered to most of you, so I assumed it would be the best to keep a low profile at some point'
Then he dragged his chair closer to the rest of the elders while noticing Silvan. He appeared modest person to Rodrigo altought he didn't knew that zoner well in person.
'So you just can't resist an opportunity to have a drink, ech Espi?' - with these words Alavera took something from this pocket and start rolling a cigarette. - 'I hope you won't mind if I?.. oh don't want to appear rude. Most likely I'll just listen what both sides have to say and learn.' He said after redirecting his eyes from Espi to the rest of the nagionators.
Vincent Grinned as Espi toasted and filled himself a cup of the seemingly radioactive rum as well and joining Espi Toast. "Si Senors, Mutual Respect"
Vincent sat down and looked at Silvan quite intentltively.
"Senor Silvan, if what you say is in deed the case, and most of the zoners on 9 are omnicroners, then I fear things for that freeport will not get better. But, that is why you are here."
"We do not want to see thta freeport damaged, or destroyed, but these omnicroners have gone to far. Action will be take against, of that much I am sure, but it is the collateral damage to zoner assest in Theta that we do not want harmed."
Vincent took another sip of his rum, and gazed back at Silvan. "You must understand senor, our issues here have never been governance of theta or the Freeport, but governance of gamma, and the security of it. I can tell you that many corsairs deaths originated from that freeport. Not that they were zoners, but the fact that all our enemies used it at some point to launch attacks from, and while corsairs were dying, the zoners just did not seem interrested in stopping it, or vene aiding us a bit. Sure Amigo, they sent us food, and kept our trade up, but no attempts were made to stop the constant launching of attacks from that freeport by our enemies."
Vincent now seemed a little angy and were noticably irritated.
"The mere fact Senor, that you are sitting here today, in this chamber, is a testament to our wishes to not cause damage to 9, but, it is also testament that we have had enough, that you being here, is a final attempt from us, to save it. The omnicroners must go. They will face corsairs justice soon."
Elder Valentine, Correct me if I am wrong, but if I have interpreted your words correctly then you only claim to have had problems with Zoner policy until recently? When other, more apparent problems became obvious?
Silvan took a step back and held his arms out wide
As Elder Valentine has said, the mere fact that I am here within these walls speaks volumes to me of the Corsair peoples wishes in this matter. The question remains, however, What do we do about this situation? While a solution saving Zoner infrastructure from further damage, as well as resulting in the expulsion of the Omicroners would be ideal, I see such a solution as but a myth. In all likelihood, It will require damage to facilities to accomplish much. Unless of course the Omicroners can be made to see reason.
If policy has been the problem from times long past, It would seem some changes in policy are required. Would you say previous policy, recent policies excluded, was too lax? Or just not enforced enough?
Silvan stopped speaking and awaited the Elders replies, an idea forming in his head
Previous policies would only deal with consequences of their failure. What good does it do, if a ship is only denied docking AFTER it attacked our home? We are looking for a solution that would prevent people doing that in the first place. Some ships slip through Eta, although I'm not sure how - they manage to do so. And stop at your freeport for repairs and rearming. This is not acceptable for us. The policy applied lately was convenient for us, since it prevented this. But you are here for something different. So ... Do we have buttons to push that will force omicroners out of your station?
Buttons to push? Perhaps. I do seem to hold significant sway amongst several influential groups. Perhaps this influence, or if you prefer, trust or support could be used to our advantage. Perhaps if enough pressure could be applied from these groups, the Omincroners could be made to see some semblance of reason. And While there may not be enough pressure in a billion stars to ever completely turn away the Omicroners, perhaps there is enough to get them to relinquish Freeport 9.
But as I had stated earlier, I believe before your return Elder, This is something to be discussed with those parties. I do not speak for them.
Espi was sitting comfortably. He leaned above the table, had a sip of his glowing cup and looked others in the room.
I think we can all agree that the omicroners aren't a diplomatic elite. What they did to the Artemis is unacceptable. It's a flagship. It represents the Brotherhood. Treating them like that is not a smart thing to do, since most Corsairs will hold a grudge towards them now. I don't want this 'conflict' to escalate any further. It caused enough trouble already. I think we can all agree on this. Perhaps a word from other respected Zoner groups would convince them to loosen up a bit. We would get to that when the time comes and contact further people to achieve this... If necessary. Who did you have in mind? Out of plain curiosity.
If we know one thing, it is that the Omicroners seem to be lacking severely in the Diplomacy department.
Elder, I also believe the other Zoner groups would be an excellent starting point. Both OSI and TAZ have told me in secure transmissions that they support any move for peace in the Omicrons, regardless of whether the Omicroners wish it or not. I have not heard any concrete statements from any other groups regarding the matter.
Perhaps a meeti---
Silvan's commpad lights up and beeps once at him. Silvan looks down at it, then looks up at the Elders.
Excuse me a moment, Elders. An administrator's work is never done.
Silvan typed something out on the pad, then put it away.
Again Elders, my apologies for the interruption. Now where was I? Oh yes. Perhaps a meeting with the leadership of these groups is necessary for any chance of peace to proceed?
![[Image: montezuma1.png]](http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss260/Gaelic_Aztec/montezuma1.png)
![[Image: Dourden4.gif]](http://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Dourden4.gif)
